Eternal Rule
by Deiru Tamashi
Summary: Since the age of the Old Republic, there had not been a war that spread across the entire galaxy. Not one that consumed entire star systems and left the galaxy's inhabitants in peril. Not one... until the Clone Wars. Now, an ancient power has begun to emerge from the depths of Wild Space. A power known as the Eternal Alliance. Rated T just in case. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1: The Fleet Emerges

Author's Note: I do not own Star Wars or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to the respective owners.

* * *

 **Hello, one and all, and welcome to this, my latest fanfiction. This one was born of a plot bunny that has been pestering me incessnantly for the past few weeks, and I finally decided to write it out. So, tell me what you think (constructively) and read on!**

* * *

Summary: Since the age of the Old Republic, there had not been a war that spread across the entire galaxy. Not one that consumed entire star systems and left the galaxy's inhabitants in peril. Not one... until the Clone Wars. Now, an ancient power has begun to emerge from the depths of Wild Space. A power known as the Eternal Alliance.

* * *

"Come on, Shmi, push!"

Shmi Skywalker gritted her teeth and had to refrain from yelling at the midwife. Though it was sorely tempting. She _had_ been pushing for several hours ever since she had felt her child was coming, and told Gardulla the Elder—her owner—that she needed help if she was to have the baby safely.

The Hutt has not been pleased about this, particularly given the fact that she had not wanting Shmi pregnant and unable to be of much use anyway. Still, she had acquiesced, and now Shmi was in a closed room, trying to give birth to her child.

She still hadn't even figured out how she got pregnant. It was maddening.

Another wave of pain forced her to refocus on the present, and she cried out in pain along with swearing in both Basic and Huttese. The process continued for a few more hours, during which time she was fairly certain that giving birth was going to kill her. That, or make her very much appreciative of the child she would get out of this mind-breaking agony.

Eventually, her efforts were rewarded, as one final push was given. "AAAAHHHH!" she screamed, and finally fell back, her strength depleted. For a few moments, there was silence… and then the room became filled with the sound of a baby crying.

One of the midwives looked the child over, and then smiled up at her. "It's a boy," she said.

Shmi smile tiredly at that, and reached outwards. "Let me hold him…" she managed to say. The other nodded and cleaned the child off in a nearby tub before wrapping him in towel and handing him to Shmi. Sitting up, she cradled her son and smiled down at him. Once he was in her arms, the boy stopped crying and slowly opened his eyes, revealing them to be a bright blue.

Shmi couldn't help but grin. Even though it wasn't her brown eyes, they still looked beautiful, and made her treasure the sight all the more. She was taken out of her fantasy, however, by one of the midwives, who asked "So what are you going to name him?"

Shmi was silent for a moment, thinking, before it hit her, and she looked back down at her precious son. "Anakin," she said. "His name will be Anakin."

* * *

" _His name will be Anakin._ "

In the depths of Wild Space, an unknown figure gasped, eyes shooting open as their hearing suddenly detected that sound in the otherwise silent room. No one in the room had spoken, every guard manning their post as they always had—though a few of the close ones did glance over in curiosity.

The figure frowned and leaned back in their throne. Eyes that were fully white, save for the pupil and a black ring around the irises, gazed at the stars and contemplated what had just occurred. It was very rare that something reached her senses and affected them to such a point that her meditation was disrupted. Typically, she could immerse herself in the Force and feel the rest of the galaxy move around her, several quadrillions of life forms interacting and living with each other in an interconnecting web that sprawled out along millions of planets.

For a single voice, out of all the others, to be heard by her meant that she had either heard that voice of someone as powerful in the Force as she (unlikely, but possible) or the voice had been part of a vision that she had not finished seeing.

With that in mind, the woman closed her eyes and spread her consciousness outwards, feeling with the Force. First, there was herself, a near-blinding corona of Force energy that would have made even a Miraluka feel as if their 'eyes' were hurting. Reaching outwards, she could feel the energy of her guards, as firm and resolute as their conviction to serve her. Farther, and she could feel the energies of her people, then her planet and, finally, the galaxy.

So many emotions and actions occurred around her. She could feel anger, joy, sadness, love, hatred and countless others. They bombarded her senses like tidal wave, threatening to consume her mind and leave her mad. But rather than move peacefully through the swarm of feelings like a Jedi or crush the ones in her way like a Sith, she marched in stride, not pausing or faltering, until she reached that part of the Force where her vision had come from.

She could see… a boy. A young one, born into hardship yet maintaining a purity of soul. Though her vision did not show his face, she could see his actions. The boy would grow, powerful in the Force but unaware of his gift, until other Force-sensitive individuals would take him under their wing to teach him their ways. He would grow, his power growing with him, until the day when he would devote himself to new teachings and-

The vision ended.

The woman frowned, perturbed that she hadn't gotten to see what came next. But alas, there was little to be done. And while she didn't have a face to attach to this boy that had caught her interest, she did have a name.

Anakin… she looked forward to the day she met him.

Raising her hand, the two guards closest to her stood straighter and faced her. "Yes, your Grace?" one of them asked.

The woman looked beyond them. "Bring me High Justice Beniko. It is time that we retook what was ours," she ordered, much to the shock of everyone else in the room. Still, the two guards didn't let their surprise stop them, and bowed to her before marching out of the throne room. Once they were gone, she couldn't stop herself from grinning. After over three thousand years, they would finally return.

* * *

Star Wars: Eternal Rule

Ch.1 The Fleet Emerges

"Here we go," Anakin Skywalker said, adjusting the course of his ship as he flew forward. Behind him, the rest of Shadow Squadron and Master Plo Koon followed. The entire strike team had just finished taking a 'shortcut' through a nebula filled with giant mantas in an attempt to catch up to General Grievous.

The cyborg general was commanding a massive battlecruiser known as the _Malevolence_ towards one of the Republic's medical stations. The cruiser was equipped with their latest weapon: a massive ion cannon that could disable all electronics caught within its blast, including ships. If they didn't manage to intercept Grievous, he'd be able to use the cannon and render the medical station and its inhabitants—over sixty thousand injured clones—helpless to being bombarded.

Hence the reason they had taken their 'shortcut' and were flying Y-wing bombers. If they could reach the _Malevolence_ before it reached the station, they could blast Grievous to pieces and destroy the ship's ion cannon.

As they continued their flight, Plo Koon noticed that one of the ships next to him was trailing smoke. Opening the com link, he asked "Shadow Two, how damaged is your ship?"

Matchstick, the clone piloting the ship, quickly responded "Just a scratch, sir. It's nothing to worry about."

Even so, the Kel Dor grunted. "We must not take any more unnecessary risks. If even one of us were to fall, it will make destroying that Grievous and that cannon that much harder," he warned.

Anakin frowned. "Except that we didn't lose any ships, and I won't-" he began, before he was interrupted by Shadow Three, who said "Sir, I'm picking up a contact on the scanners."

In the gunner's seat of Anakin's ship, Ahsoka Tano, his Padawan, said "I thought those mantas wouldn't follow us outside the nebula."

Shadow Three replied "It's not following us. It's a ship, and it's coming out of hyperspace." A moment later, he said "Sir, it's the _Malevolence_."

True enough, a moment later, the massive Separatist ship appeared several klicks ahead of them, flying straight for the medical station. Aboard the bridge of the ship, General Grievous noticed several transport ships were fleeing the station, while their own scanners had detected the bomber team coming towards them.

"Launch our fighters and turn this ship into attack position. I want casualties maximized, so target the transports first," he ordered.

The droids around the ship responded with a programmed "Roger, roger," and began charging the ion cannon. It took several seconds to fire, but once it did, it released a massive circle of crackling purple energy straight at the transports. Not able to steer out of the way or jump to hyperspace, the ships were caught in the blast and completely fired, all defenseless down.

Immediately, the laser turrets mounted along the _Malevolence_ opened fire. Given that the transports were now jut floating in space, picking them off was easier than finding a Bantha in a crowd of Jawas. If he had the ability to do so, Grievous would have even smiled. As it was, he said "Recharge the cannon and prepare to fire."

"But sir, out fighters will be caught in the blast," one of the droids protested.

Grievous's only response was "Fire at my command."

Meanwhile, the ship had released several squads of Vulture droids, all of which were flying towards Skywalker's strike team. Both sides began firing on one another and the droid ships scattered to surround them.

"Keep it steady, guys. Hold formation," Anakin ordered. But that soon proved impossible, and they were forced to break up to avoid being shot at. Anakin grunted he ducked and weaved through the enemy fire. "Get those fighters off of us!" he ordered.

"Your fancy flying isn't helping!" Ahsoka shot back, struggling to even aim while her Master kept swerving around.

Then the ion cannon fired and came straight for them, prompting them all to begin flying towards the edge of the blast. The higher they flew, however, the more they noticed that one of them was lagging behind. "Shadow 2, what's wrong?" Ahsoka asked.

"Nothing, ma'am. Just trying to keep it together," Matchstick said. But in truth, he was struggling more than he was letting on. The previous damage to his ship was getting worse, and the trail of smoke from his thruster was growing larger.

A few seconds later, the thruster completely exploded, causing Matchstick to lose control and begin spiraling back downwards. "Look out!" he called to the ships below him. While two were able to dodge the falling ship, one did not, and both of them went up in a cloud of fire and shrapnel. Additionally, three ships did reach the edge of the ion blast in time, and were caught in it.

Although he didn't want to hear it, he knew he had to say it. "Shadow Squadron, check in," he said.

Ahsoka, sounding much more subdued than before, reported "We lost Matchstick and Tag. Shadows Six, Seven and Ten were caught in the blast." Five ships down. Not counting Plo Koon, that meant that there were only seven of them left to strike at the _Malevolence_.

With their Vulture droids disabled, the enemy ship opened fire with its turrets, not giving Shadow Squadron any time to rest. Trying to avoid the shots, Shadow Five said "This flak is heavy!"

"Stay on course!" Plo Koon ordered. The strike team reached the _Malevolence_ and began flying along its hull, towards the bridge. But then Shadow Five was blasted from the side by several turret shots, and his ship crashed into the cruiser.

Ahsoka gasped, dismayed at seeing another fellow team member fall. "Master," she began, before wincing as an explosion went off right next to them. "We need a new plan!" he urged him.

But Anakin shook his head, saying "Don't worry, Snips. We can make it!"

Only for Shadow Seven to be blow apart as well. "Master, you can make it, but everyone else is getting shot to pieces!" Ahsoka urged.

Suddenly, the side of the _Malevolence_ began glowing purple, showing that the ion cannon was preparing to fire. And this time, it was aimed at the medical station.

Anakin looked forward, past the laserfire before them and towards the bridge. They could do it. They could keep going forward, strike at the bridge and take out Grievous once and for all. All it would cost was the medical station. And as much as he wanted to destroy that cyborg, he couldn't accept that cost.

However, just before he could issue a new target, he heard Plo Koon speak up. "Skywalker, I'm picking up several contacts coming out hyperspace. They don't appear to be Republic ships!" he said.

' _Reinforcements. Just great_ ,' he said. Out loud, he told the rest of the squad "Then get ready, Things are about to get messy!"

"Messy? I think that's the understatement of—What the heck?!" Ahsoka yelled, looking towards the location off to their left, where they had detected the ships. The rest of them looked as well… and saw for themselves just what had shocked Ahsoka so much.

It wasn't five or six ships like the scanners had suggested. Instead, there were dozens, no, _hundreds_ of ships, each one of them a battlecruiser of unknown design and as large as Destroyer-class ships.

Everyone who could see the unknown fleet—Shadow Squadron, the medical station, even the _Malevolence_ —were all frozen in shock at the arrival of this sudden and overwhelming attack force. None of them had seen these kinds of ships before, and could think of no planet or government that housed a fleet of such size. Not even close.

The first ones to come out of their shock were Grievous and the droids, and that was due to them noticing that several of the lead ships had fired odd pod-like missiles at the _Malevolence_. The projectiles struck the ship and burrowed straight through its exterior. Once inside, they opened to each deposit several squads of droids.

Unlike the Separatist droids, however, these droids were more humanoid in shape and covered in white armor. Each droid was also carrying a blaster rifle, and opened fire the moment that they landed on their feet.

Alarms quickly began going off all over the bridge, and General Grievous looked around in shock. "What just happened?! Give me a report!" he yelled.

One of the droids responded "General, we appear to have been boarded! Enemy forces are being spotted on all several decks!"

The Kaleesh cyborg snarled. "Send all available forces to those decks! I want this unknown enemy destroyed!" he demanded.

Meanwhile, Shadow Squadron, who had been watching until just now, decided to act. "Whoever's chosen to help us, they've definitely got the _Malevolence_ distracted. Now's our chance to take out their weapon!" Plo Koon said.

Anakin, who was at last in agreement, nodded. "Shadow Squadron, we have a new target. Move to target the starboard ion cannon!" he called.

The rest of the strike team readily agreed and they all switched course for their new target. They still had to dodge flak from the turrets, but now the majority of it was focused on their new ally. Once they were close enough, Anakin called "Torpedoes away!"

Each of them fired their torpedoes at the ion cannon, causing succession of blasts that shook the _Malevolence_. A high-pitched keening began to issue from the ion cannon, though since they were in space, none of them heard it. Indeed, Grievous had the cannon switch targets to the enemy fleet, and called "Fire!"

The moment the cannon did fire, it exploded in a blast so powerful that it knocked the entire ship from side to side, and also caused the ion cannon on the port side to detonate as well.

Shadow Squadron began fling towards the medical station, cheering. "Good work, everyone!" Plo Koon congratulated. The rest of them grinned, but then Anakin received an incoming transmission.

It was Obi-Wan, who was with the three Republic cruisers that were supposed to finish the job of destroying the _Malevolence_. " _Anakin, do you copy? Have you and the rest of the strike team completed your objective?_ " he asked.

Anakin grinned. "Somewhat. We've destroyed the ion cannons, though Grievous is still alive. But don't worry, Master. It looks like someone else has that handled," he said.

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "Someone else? What do you mean?" He got his answer when the cruisers came out of hyperspace, and saw the massive fleet firing on the _Malevolence_.

"…Oh. So that's what you meant," the Jedi general stated.

* * *

Aboard the _Malevolence_ , Grievous rose to his feet, trying to shake of the slight cobwebs that had come with being knocked to the floor. "Damage report," he ordered.

"The Republic forces destroyed both primary weapons, sir. Also, the droids that have boarded the ship have disabled our hyperdrive," one of the droids reported.

Grievous was silent for a moment, causing two of the droids to look at each other. In their experience, whenever the General was quiet, it meant one of two things. Either he was fully satisfied… or exceptionally angry.

It turned out to be the latter when Grievous roared in rage and swung his arm, smashing the head of one of the droids completely from its shoulders. To the rest of them, he said "Begin a full retreat. Make for Separatist space. And destroy those boarders!"

* * *

Anakin and Ahsoka entered the center of the medical station. The station's head doctor, the Kaminoan scientist Nala Se, bowed at his arrival. "General Skywalker, I wanted to thank you for your valiant effort today. Do not take the lives you saved lightly," she said.

Anakin nodded. "I won't, but I can't take the lives we lost lightly either. Nor were we solely responsible for the mission's success," he said solemnly.

The clone that had been standing next to Nala spoke up. "Actually, sir, it's good that you mentioned that. We've received a single holo-message from the unknown fleet, and were going to replay it to General Kenobi. But since you're here, you might want to see it first," he said.

At Anakin's nod of approval, the clone pressed a few buttons on the control panel, before the message appeared in front of them. It showed a figure who they assumed to be human, though it was hard to guess since they were wearing armor. Said armor consisted of gold-colored plating along their torso, shoulders, arms and waist, with metal boots of the same color, black pants and gold-colored helmets that covered their face.

Most notable, however, were the two weapons the figure was carrying. One was a large shield that matched their armor, while the other… was a lightsaber pike.

Both Anakin and Ahsoka stared, shocked at seeing that one of the unknown fleet's number wielded a lightsaber. Did that mean there were others who wielded lightsaber pikes as well? And were they all Force-sensitive? Despite the questions running through their heads, both Jedi focused when the armored figure spoke.

"Representatives of the Galactic Republic. In the name of our glorious Empress and the Knights of Zakuul, you have been given this warning. The Eternal Alliance has returned."

* * *

 **So, there we have it, the first chapter of Eternal Rule. This idea came to me after playing** _ **Star Wars: The Old Republic**_ **and watching** _ **The Clone Wars**_ **on Netflix, and I got to wondering about how things would be if the Eternal Alliance were still present during the days of the Galactic Republic. Thus, this fic was born. So, tell me what you all think of this chapter and the fic itself. Just be constructive about it, please!**

 **And so, please review! If you flame me then Bruce Lee will smash you with his nunchaku. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)**


	2. Chapter 2: Assault on Tranquility

Author's Note: I do not own Star Wars or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to the respective owners.

* * *

 **Author's Note: And here is the next chapter of Eternal Rule. I'm glad to see that the responses I got for the first chapter were rather positive, and that readers of it look forward to more. In that case, allow me to not disappoint, and I now provide you with Chapter Two, as well as replies to said reviews! Enjoy!**

 **Greymon Leader batx flashpoint: Glad to see that you're enjoying it. The Knights of Zakuul were always an interesting subject of study for me. A sect of Force-users with considerable numbers, believing in neither the ways of the Jedi or Sith… Fascinating.**

 **Rebiele: Thank you for your kind words.**

 **Karagun: Yeah, it was chiefly my love for the game that inspired me to write this. Happy to hear that another player of** _ **The Old Republic**_ **likes this.**

 **And Guest: Ask and ye shall receive.**

 **And now, we begin!**

* * *

Ch.2 Assault on _Tranquility_

 **A few weeks later…**

The Jedi Council sat in a circle as they watched the holorecording replay itself. For once, all twelve members of the Council were present, even the ones who had been off-world when the events regarding the _Malevolence_ took place. The mysterious fleet that appeared had completely annihilated the warship, dealing irreparable damage to its exterior after only minutes of sustained laserfire. Then the droids that boarded it re-wired the ships' navigation systems to fly itself into a nearby star, not even leaving any wreckage behind.

Unfortunately, General Grievous had been able to escape in his personal starfighter before the ship's destruction. He had been the only one to do so—even the boarding droids had chosen to be incinerated rather than leave behind any evidence to be examined. Then, once the _Malevolence_ was confirmed to be destroyed, the fleet of warships had jumped to hyperspace, leaving as suddenly as they had appeared.

The only proof they had even been there in the first place were the eyewitness accounts of all the Republic forces who had been present. That, and the message they had left behind.

The news that other Force-users were galaxy was not unheard of. However, never had they heard of a group of them that had gathered into a militaristic force. Even worse, the number of people composing this group—these 'Knights of Zakuul'—was unknown, so they had no idea how widespread the group was. And so, the Council had convened.

The image of the Knight faded away, and Grandmaster Yoda looked around at his fellow Council members. "Dangerous and unknown, this new threat is. What have we to report?" he asked.

Master Ki-Adi-Mundi went first. "I have searched the Jedi archives for information regarding these knights or the Eternal Alliance they spoke of. However, except for a single passage regarding a planet named Zakuul, there was no information to speak of," he said.

Master Mace Windu raised an eyebrow. "And? Let's hear it," he said.

Mundi cleared his throat before pulling out a datapad. "Zakuul, the center of the galaxy during the era of eternal reign. Protected by the Knights, the enforcers of justice, and led by the Eternal Throne. All fall before it," he read gravely.

For a moment, there was silence, until Obi-Wan couldn't help but state "Well, that was certainly cheerful."

Master Shaak Ti couldn't help but snort at that, though she quickly recollected herself and looked over at Mundi. "Is that all? There were no other entries about either subject?" she asked.

Mundi shook his head. "None. Even when I tried to look for Zakuul on the astrogation charts, no results appeared. As if the planet simply didn't exist," he said.

That caused several of them, Obi-Wan in particular, to narrow their eyes. The last time they had heard of a planet that "didn't exist", that planet had turned out to not only exist after all, but housed an alien species responsible for growing an entire army of clone troopers. As it was, Yoda said "Very well. And the next report?"

Plo Koon leaned forward, pressing a view buttons on his own datapad and causing a holo-image of one of the mysterious warships to appear in the center of the room. "While we haven't been able to acquire one of ships to study personally, the fleet has been making several appearances over the past few weeks in various parts of the galaxy. During each of these events, we've been able to glean some information as to their workings."

"First of all, each ship is exactly alike in design to each other, which is both good and bad. Good, because that means that if we find a way to disable one warship, we can disable them all. Bad, because each one possesses formidable capabilities on their own, much less when in mass. Each one boasts an array of turbolaser turrets powerful to compete with our strongest battle cruisers, as well as cloaking technology and speed far surpassing any ships used by either us or the Separatists. Only some of our newer, more experimental models can keep up."

Master Sasee Tiin grunted. "Yes, and rumors about them have already begun to spread throughout the Republic. An unstoppable fleet of warships, one that can appear anywhere in the galaxy at any time, wreak destruction with no survivors, and then vanish without a trace. Some of the more paranoid civilians have already given these ships a name: The Eternal Fleet," he said.

Indeed, while the _Malevolence_ had been the first target to fall to the Eternal Fleet, it was far from the last. Over the course of the past few weeks, the fleet had struck against several ships or outposts belonging to either the Republic or the Separatists.

The second to go had been an outpost near Rishi that, once destroyed, had left Kamino exposed to the possibility of invasion. If the clone troopers stationed there hadn't sent out a distress signal before they were all killed, such an invasion might have indeed occurred. Then there had been a previously hidden research station the Separatists had underneath the swamps on Naboo. The Eternal Alliance had completely collapsed the research station and destroyed everything inside, including a reproduced strain of the infamous 'Blue Shadow' virus.

The Alliance had even struck at targets not specifically aligned to either faction, such as having a squad of their own droids—now known as Skytrooper droids—assault the Republic holding cells on Coruscant and assassinate Ziro the Hutt.

It didn't take a military genius to see what was happening. The Eternal Alliance was using its greater size and speed to launch an ambush campaign against any high-value targets involved in the war. Each attack was specifically designed to create a level of destruction that would take anywhere from a few weeks to several months to recover from. If at all.

The worst part was that the Eternal Alliance had made sure that, with each attack, they left behind only enough intelligence to prove that they were responsible, and nothing more. They had yet to even receive another message since the first one.

The final report to be given was from Master Adi Gallia, who said "On a brighter note, the actions of Senator Amidala and Representative Binks on Rodia enabled Republic forces to capture Viceroy Nute Gunray of the Trade Federation. He is currently being brought here to Coruscant to stand trial."

Yoda smiled. "Very good, that is. With Gunray captured, information on Separatist movements, we might also obtain," he pointed out.

Gallia nodded. "However, considering how important that information as well as the viceroy himself are to both sides, we can't dismiss the possibility that the Eternal Alliance will take this chance to assassinate him just as they did to Ziro the Hutt. As such, we've assigned additional Jedi to protect him until he makes here," she explained.

Windu grunted. "Then let us hope that they will be enough," he said. And on that, everyone on the Council agreed.

* * *

"I'm telling you, I am a very wealthy man. Help me, and I promise that you will _generously_ rewarded," Gunray said, looking at the half-dozen clones around him.

The one closest to him smiled. "That is a very tempting offer, viceroy. In the meantime, though, I've got a gift for you," he said, and pulled out a pair of hand-cuffs. The Neimoidian stopped smiling at that, and refused to say another word as he was lead to the holding cells.

Ahsoka watched him go with a smirk on her face, glad to see him getting some of his just rewards. Once the door closed behind them, she rejoined the three other Jedi on the bridge. There was the one she had originally been assigned with, Master Luminara Unduli. Then there were the two other Jedi that had arrived just as they were leaving Rodia—Jedi Knight Nahdar Vebb and Luminara's own Padawan, Barriss Offee.

A Master, a Knight and two Padawans. Together, they would be more than enough to win against any assassins, or so they believed. But they were not too far from Coruscant, and they had still yet to encounter any opposition. It was strange and, even more so, boring.

Master Luminara stepped forward. "Captain, have you been able to establish contact with the cruiser?" he asked.

One of the two clones piloting the vessel nodded. "Yes, General. We'll patch you through now," he said, before pressing a few buttons.

On a screen above them, three armored members of Coruscant Security appeared. Luminara spoke up, saying "Republic cruiser _Tranquility_ , this is Jedi General Luminara, requesting permission to board."

The soldier in the center, one Captain Argyus, said "You're all clear, General. We await you and your prisoner." Then the screen went off, and the ship approached the _Tranquility_.

Ahsoka sighed. "Finally, we're here. This trip was a lot less fun than I'd thought it would be," she commented.

Barriss chuckled. "Be glad for that, Ahsoka. A boring trip is a safe trip, and one that lacks any bumps in the road to catch us off guard," she advised.

The ship reached the cruiser was landed inside, and the four Jedi assumed a diamond formation around Gunray. As they led him to the ship's detention center, they did their best to ignore his near-constant complaining. Even so, some of it managed to reach their ears.

"This is an outrageous miscarriage of justice. I demand to see my litigator!" he shouted. Only for him to be shoved along by Vebb, who said nothing.

Once they had met up the Coruscant Security forces and passed Gunray off to them, the four Jedi walked off. Along the way, Barriss spoke up. "Master, I am curious. The viceroy doesn't appear to be all that dangerous. Why have all this additional security just for his sake?" she asked.

Luminara frowned. "Be that as it may, do not let your overconfidence cloud your judgement. Even as we speak, Gunray's allies may be conspiring against us. And even if they are not, we still have the Eternal Alliance to consider. There's no way of knowing whether or not they will strike," she warned.

* * *

At that moment, several parsecs away, Count Dooku was aboard a Separatist cruiser and kneeling before a hologram of his master, Darth Sidious.

" _Gunray's capture could be of great danger to us, my student. If pushed, it will not take much for the Jedi to make him submit during their interrogation_ ," the Darth warned.

Dooku nodded. "I suspected that, my lord, and have already put a plan into action. My best agent, Asajj Ventress, will infiltrate the Republic ship. Once aboard, she has orders to either free Gunray or, failing that, kill him. She is a gifted assassin, Master. She will succeed," he assured.

Sidious was silent for a moment, thinking. Eventually, he said "Very well. I will put my faith in you and your operative. You may proceed." And with that, the hologram deactivated.

The moment it did, the door behind Dooku opened, revealing that Ventress had been standing there the whole time. Without even looking behind him, the count said "There can be no margin of error this time, Asajj. It is timed that you proved yourself worthy of being my apprentice."

Ventress smirked. "I am indeed worthy, Master. You'll see," she said.

* * *

 **A while later…**

Captain Argyus looked into Gunray's holding cell. Inside, he could see the viceroy and Luminara sitting across from each other, while the other Jedi leaned against the walls. Waving at one of the clones stationed nearby, he asked "How's the interrogation gone? Has he cracked yet?"

The clone, Commander Gree of Green Company, shook his head. "Not yet, no. But the Jedi will get it done, even with a Neimoidian as slippery as this one," he said confidently.

Inside the cell, Luminara let Barriss try. The Mirialan stepped forward, and she and the viceroy locked eyes. After several moments, Gunray was the first to blink, and that was when Barriss spoke up. "Your eyes expose your thoughts. You're afraid. Afraid of losing your wealth and your power, both of which you gained because of this war," she stated.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm just a pawn, and an innocent one at that," he said firmly. However, it was ruined by the fact that he looked away.

Nadhar added on, saying "You are far from innocent. In fact, you are hiding a lot of things. The names of your allies, for one, and the locations of Separatist bases. You will tell us this."

Gunray shook his head. "No. I know nothing!" he denied.

The Mon Calamari glared at him, and reached for his lightsaber. But Ahsoka, who had been silent until now, beat him to punch. She ignited hers and leaped forward, holding the blade inches from Gunray's throat. "I'm tired of your lies and all of your whining! Tell us what you know this instant or I will gut you!" she yelled.

The viceroy cried out in fear and fell backward, tipping his chair over as he fell onto his back. Both Barriss and Nadhar stared at in her shock, though Nadhar's had less shock and more approval. Luminara moved quickly and grabbed Ahsoka by the arm, pulling her away.

"Ahsoka Tano, fear is not something to strike into others!" she whispered harshly.

Ahsoka shook her head. "I wasn't actually going to kill him. But he'll only talk if he's frightened enough," she argued.

Just as the Master was going to remind her that such a thing was not the Jedi way, they heard Gunray speak up. "Perhaps… I was a little too hasty to cast judgement. Maybe there is a chance for us to negotiate," he said, getting back to his feet.

Ahsoka looked back at Luminara and smiled. However, before either of them could say anything, they were suddenly shaken as an explosion went off, one large enough to cause the floor under them to tilt somewhat.

Alarms began blaring, and Commander Gree activated his communicator. "Bridge command, what happened? Answer me!" he said.

On the bridge, one of the clones ducked underneath the windows to avoid being seen through it. "Sir, it's droid fighters. There's a swarm of them coming right us. And they've brought boarding ships," he said.

Gree cursed, and switched frequencies. "Green Company, prepare to battle! Repel the enemy!" he ordered. A chorus of "Yes, sir!" responded, and the soldiers on the other end of the line began moving.

The droid ships continued on their path towards the _Tranquility_ , weaving in and out of the path of its laser turrets. Once close enough, the boarding ships dropped down and pierced right through the hull of the ship above the hangar.

Green Company reached the hangar just as the ships opened, releasing several B2 super battle droids. Once those droids landing on their feet, they reached forward and began firing with their wrist-mounted blasters. The clones took cover behind piles of supply crates and exchanged fire.

Blue and red blasters zipped from side to side across the hangar. However, even though they lacked any cover, the droids continued marching forward and shooting. Once of them, with a grenade launcher mounted its wrist instead of a blaster, fired a shot and killed several clones in the ensuing explosion. And still more droids dropped from the boarding ships.

Jerking his head to side and barely avoiding a blaster bolt between the eyes, one of the clones ducked behind a crate. "Green Company to Commander Gree! Enemy droids have breached our hull and have us outnumbered! We think they're headed for the detention center, but we need assistance!" he said. Then he looked up and saw one of the droids standing directly in front of him.

The last thing Commander Gree heard was that the sound of shooting, and that clone groaning as he fell over, two shots to the heart penetrating his armor and killing him instantly. Gree gritted his teeth. "This is not good. In fact, I don't see how it could get worse," he said.

As if fate had heard him, the clone still on the bridge noticed a light on the command console began flashing red, and contacted him. "Sir, our sensors are also detecting several large-" he began. Then he peeked over the edge of the console, and stopped. Behind the droid fighters and their boarding were a dozen large battlecruisers, each of them looking _very_ familiar.

"Commander, it's the Eternal Alliance. They're here," he said.

* * *

Aboard the lead battlecruiser, two armored individuals waited to be deployed onto the Republic ship alongside a platoon of Skytrooper droids. Their orders for very simple. Fight their target, kill them, and then flee. Remove any opposition that gone in the way. Simple, easy to understand, and both of them were confident enough in their power to get it done.

The ships countered the _Tranquility_ 's laserfire with their own, matching it hit for hit and also taking minimal damage by directing power to their forward shields. Once the lead ship was close enough, the two individuals climbed inside of one of the pods and waited.

* * *

Gree had to refrain from banging his head against a wall. "Okay, so it did just get worse," he said.

Luminara took command. "Commander, you will come with me. I'll need your assistance," she said, and exited the cell. When Ahsoka began to following her, though, she stopped and looked back. "You three will stay here with Captain Argyus. Guard the viceroy," she ordered.

Nadhar and Barriss both nodded, though Nadhar didn't seem pleased about the prospect of staying put. At the same time, Ahsoka said "What? But-"

She stopped when she noticed the hard stare Luminara was giving her. One that clearly told that the order wasn't up for debate. Bowing her head, Ahsoka said "Yes, Master."

Once Luminara was gone, Gunray couldn't help but add his two cents. "It appears that there will be no need to negotiate after all, Jedi. Perhaps after I am rescued, then I might be willing to hear you make an offer," he said. Nadhar had to resist going back into the cell to punch him for that.

* * *

Back inside the hangar deck, once all the battle droids had left, one more person dropped from the boarding ships. It was none other than Ventress, who looked around to make sure that the coast was clear.

It wasn't. One of the clones had managed to stay alive, and saw her. Quickly, she activated both of her lightsabers and charged. The clone tried to move back and issue a warning. "All units, there's a bald-!" he started, before Ventress silenced him permanently via cutting off his head.

As the head rolled away, the comlink was still on. " _Trooper, what have you found? Come in!_ " he said. Ventress smirked and picked the device off the body before attaching it to her own arm. Spotting an air duct, she Force-leaped towards it and used her lightsaber to cut open a hole. On the comlink, she could hear the clones still talking to each other.

" _Skytrooper and Super battle droids are everywhere! Fall back to the detention level! We have to protect the prisoner!_ " Ventress narrowed her eyes at that, and began moving forward through the air duct.

Eventually, she reached an opening, and carefully moved the grate covering it to the side. From the looks of it, she had reached the engine generator room. And standing on the walkway to the generators was a surveillance droid. Not a challenge.

By the time the droid looked over the area where the air duct was, the grate was already back in place, and Ventress was nowhere to be found. Two clone troopers entered the room after the droid, and also began looking around.

"See anything?" one of the asked. The droid responded with a shake of the head, indicating that it hadn't. "Right. Seems like the engine room is clear. We'll lock it down, just to be safe," the clone said.

"Good idea. Then we should get going to the prison level. 327, you keep watch here," the second clone said. The droid swiveled its head to look at him, giving off an annoyed squeaking. The clone took a step back. "Alright, alright, 327- _T_ ," he amended.

"You know droids don't like being given nicknames," the first clone stated, and the two of them left the engine room. 327-T continued its surveillance. Ventress, however, was on top of one of the engines, out of its line of sight.

Once it moved far enough away, she pulled several bombs from her pocket and began throwing them. Each one stuck to whatever surface they hit, but also alerted the droid to the sound of them whistling by. Ventress kept moving to stay out of its line of sight, and planted each charge one at a time. Once the last charge was set, she leaped back to the grate and slipped back inside, 327-T none the wiser.

* * *

Along the halls of the ships, Green Company tried to hold off the marching droids as best as they could. But what the super battle droids lacked in skill, despite their name, they made up for in numbers. As the distance closed between them, it became harder to avoid being shot at. Two troopers found that out the hard way, and fell to ground with smoke rising from them.

The droids nearly reached them when they were suddenly shot at from the side. In the hallway connecting to theirs, several Skytrooper droids had reached their position and opened fire. Half of the Separatist droids switched target to handle the new threat, while the other half focused on Green Company.

The two sets of droids fired one another, not stooping as their allies were blasted into pieces or when sustaining their own injuries. But the Skytroopers were only a ruse, something the super battle droids found out a moment later.

"For the Empress!" a male voice called, and one of the B2 droids was cut in half. The one responsible was wearing golden armor and a helmet, while also holding a lightsaber pike with a blue blade. A Knight of Zakuul.

The B2 droids now split into three groups to attack their enemies. The Knight shot forward and ducked under the initial wave of blaster fire. Stabbing his pike forward, he severed the leg of one of the droids, causing it to fall sideways. Due to the cramped nature of the hallway, that caused it to accidentally shoot the droid that it had fallen into, disabling it.

When the droids then tried to shoot at him in his crouched position, he straightened up and spun his pike in circle, deflecting the bolts that came at him. But the droids kept firing, forcing him on the defensive. Fortunately, a voice behind him called "Gayg, get down!" and he hit the floor.

Behind him stood the other Knight, this one female. She extended her arm and shouted, releasing as blast of telekinetic energy that passed just over the male Knight. It hit the droids and sent them flying back, firing wildly as they spun around. Then the two Knights reached out and stopped them from hitting the far wall, and rotated the droids in mid-air to fire on the others.

Attacked from four different sources, the remaining battle droids were quickly defeated, and the Knights finished off the ones they were manipulating by smashing them into each other.

Gayg, the male Knight, sighed and placed his lightsaber pike on his back. "Thanks for the save back there, Kei," he said.

The female Knight nodded, but they were approached by the remaining clone troopers before she could speak. They were four of them in total, all aiming their blaster rifles at the two Knights. "Hands where we can see them. And don't try anything funny," one of them warned.

Gayg and Kei looked at the clone for a moment, and then at each other. "Does this count as interference?" Gayg asked.

After a moment of though, his female companion shrugged. "It seems that way to me," she said. And without further ado, she lunged forward and stabbed her lightsaber pike into the stomach of one of clones.

The others reacted and aimed for Kei, but Gayg kicked one them in the knee, creating a loud _snap_ in said joint as armor met armor. He then extended his arms and grabbed the other two with the Force, raising them into the air.

"For interfering with the distribution of justice, you have been found guilty. The punishment is death," he said shortly, and crushed their throats while Kei killed the one he had injured. All four bodies dropped to the floor, and both Knights continued onwards.

* * *

 **And that ends this chapter. With this one out, my mind should settle back down enough for me to work on my other stories, though that in no way means that I am neglecting this one. Rather than be part of my regular five-story rotation, this fic will be updated as the inspiration for it strikes me, similar to my Highschool DxD fic. So, look forward to it!**

 **Please review! If you flame me then Bruce Lee will smash you with his nunchaku (I'm just kidding… or am I?)**


	3. Chapter 3: An Unlikely Alliance

Author's Note: I do not own Star Wars or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to the respective owners.

* * *

 **Ah, here we are. The latest chapter of the fic has risen from the depths of my brain, and is now here for you all to enjoy. Hope that you like it, but first, replying to reviews!**

 **Greymon Leader Batx flashpoint: I always did like the look of the Knights' armor, and I'm glad to know that you like it too. And don't worry, there will be lightsaber fights.**

 **Guest: Happy to hear it.**

 **Rebiele: Thank you for your kind words.**

 **Siplinzel1: Yeah, I noticed that there aren't a lot of SWTOR fanfictions, at least compared to other aspects of Star Wars. Glad that my fic was what you were looking for.**

 **FireUpTheIQ: The first time I played KOTFE/KOTET, I did it with my Jedi Consular (and didn't finish) then finished it with my Jedi Knight. Loved the story so much.**

 **And now, here we go!**

* * *

Ch.3 An Unlikely Alliance

Ahsoka opened her eyes, having chosen to try and meditate to pass the time. When doing so, she could sense all the fighting above, and could feel as the two Knights of Zakuul tore through the enemy droids… before also cutting down several clone troopers. Beside her, Nadhar gripped his lightsaber tightly. "Cutting down those soldiers simply because they were in the way… Despicable," he said.

Before he could do anything else, however, they were approached by Captain Argyus. "Padawans Tano and Offee, Knight Vebb, may I have a word?" he requested.

Ahsoka nodded and stood up. As she did, she was able to smile and look back at Gunray. "Looks like your rescue didn't work out after all. You won't go anywhere while we talk, right?" she asked.

The Neimoidian gave her a half-hearted glare. "Oh, ha ha ha. When you return, I am ready to discuss our negotiations again," he said reluctantly.

With that, the three Jedi followed the Captain to the control room. "I've just been given the all-clear. The droids have been repelled, and Master Luminara is moving to intercept the Knights of Zakuul now," he reported.

Barriss smiled and was about to speak… when they heard the sound of a lightsaber cutting through metal. Looking behind the Captain, they saw part of the ceiling of the control room fall in, and from the opening dropped none other than Ventress. The two soldiers near her went for their weapons, but she kicked them both in the chest before they could aim, each blow caving in their armor and making them hit the walls with enough force to be rendered unconscious.

The three Jedi ignited their lightsabers and moved in front of the Captain, blocking the way to Gunray's cell. "Well, if it isn't the hairless harpy," Ahsoka said.

Ventress took the insult in stride, replying "If it isn't Skywalker's filthy, obnoxious pet. And what's more, you even brought friends."

Nadhar stepped forward. "As entertaining as trading insults might be, I am looking for a fight. For all the lives you have ended, I will make sure you do not leave this ship!" he said.

Ventress ignited both of her lightsabers in response, the total of five blades filling their room with the sound of their humming. However, just as she was going to attack, the door behind them suddenly burst open. The four of them looked to see that the two Knights, Gayg and Kei, were the ones responsible. Immediately, both of them yelled "There's the target!" and leaped forward… at Ventress.

What happened next was utter bedlam.

Seeing the two warriors jump at her, Ventress quickly jumped towards the ceiling, causing both of them to sail past her and towards the Jedi. Nadhar and Barriss both reacted and Force-pushed them away, causing the two to suddenly reverse direction and fly back across the room. Both of them landed on their feet, and Gayg growled. "You will not stop justice!" he yelled, and ran towards Barriss with his lightsaber pike held high.

Rather than wait for Kei to do the same, Ahsoka charged and engaged her in combat, both of their blades striking sparks as they hit. That left Nadhar to engage Ventress, who had landed back down and was about to slip by.

"Not so fast, witch!" the Mon Calamari yelled, swinging to cut her legs from underneath her. Ventress stopped before she was in range and let the attack pass by, before moving closer and swinging at Vebb in an X. He leaned away from the strike and countered with a horizontal sweep, which Ventress ducked under and tried to go for his legs. Rather than jump over the blades and let her swing from below, he blocked both lightsabers and shoved, trying to overpower her strength with his own.

It didn't work. After a few second and pushing against each other, Ventress overpowered Nadhar and pushed him back, sending him sliding down the hall. Grinning, she chased after him.

Kei, meanwhile, had employed a defensive stance to counter Ahsoka's own assault. While her skills with a lightsaber pike made her no stranger to unusual forms of combat, Ahsoka was using an older form of Form V, Shien, that utilized a reverse grip on one's lightsaber. This made it harder for Kei to predict where she would strike next. Still, Ahsoka's own inexperience at fighting a pike-wielder made them somewhat evenly matched.

Kei went for a stab to the stomach which Ahsoka blocked, pushing the blade to side and leaving Kei's front open. Before she could capitalize on it, however, Kei spun like a top and brought her lightsaber around from the side, forcing the Padawan to duck under it or have her head cut off. Kei continued her rotation and followed it with a spinning kick, which Ahsoka blocked with her forearm.

The Padawan withheld a grunt of pain at the strength behind the blow, only aided by the fact that Kei was wearing armor. Quickly, the female Knight withdrew her leg and struck again, now forcing Ahsoka to a more defensive stance while Kei went for offense.

Gayg, on the other hand, had been on the offensive right from the start. Every attack that he had made was an attempt to crush Barriss's defense and hack her to pieces, leaving her almost no room to counter. Luckily, Form III, Soresu, was built for defense and was her specialty, so she had been able to keep herself from sustaining injury despite Gayg's ferocious assault.

Blocking an overhead strike intended to split her in half, she said "You don't have to do this! Surrender, and no one here needs to be harmed!"

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. Even though his helmet kept her from seeing his eyes, Barriss could _feel_ Gayg's anger spike at that, and he growled. "I would sooner spend my days in carbonite than surrender to an enemy!" he yelled, and reversed his grip on his pike before throwing it at her. His use of the Force increased the momentum behind the blow and, despite deflecting the blade and sending it flying off, Barriss still was forced back a few meters.

It was at this point that the trio guards from the other end of the hall arrived, and Ahsoka was the first to notice. "Shoot them! Shoot them now!" he ordered. The guards nodded and fired at Ventress and the Knights. Gayg merely cross his arms over his chest, letting his armor take the blows of any hits that would have gotten him. Kei, meawhile, spun her spike like a windmill and repelled any that neared her. And Ventress deflected two shots back at their owners, killing all of them except for Captain Argyus.

She then grabbed the Captain with the Force and threw him into Nadhar, knocking both of them to the ground. With her opponent finished, Ventress ran towards Gunray's cell. As she tried to undo the electric lock, he said "Hurry! Get me out of here and you can have a planet!"

Sparing a glare at the Neimoidian, she said "Be quiet or I'll have your head!"

That shut the viceroy up. However, before she could disengage the lock, her danger senses spiked and she spun around, just barely blocking a crushing blow from Gayg. Behind him, Barriss was on the ground and blinking rapidly. Spots danced in front of her vision and her head throbbed in pain, which was no surprise. She _had_ been punched in the temple by a metal fist.

Ventress barely pushed the male Knight away and reached out with the Force, grabbing him by the neck. Gayg gasped and tried to break her hold, but Asajj would not have it. Slowly, she raised him into the air and watched with dark satisfaction and his struggles grew more intense. She could feel his life force fade with each passing second, even as his rage continued to grow at the prospect of not serving his 'Empress'.

But then she was forced to release him when Ahsoka attacked, having broken away from Kei and charged at her. Quickly, she sent Gayg off to the side and opened the cell door while also moving to side. As a result, Ahsoka went right past her and Gunray, who slipped out of the cell and quickly re-shut the door.

Gunray laughed at seeing the female Togruta in the exact same spot he had been in. However, before he could gloat, he was forced to the side by Ventress, who blocked at attack from Kei with one lightsaber and struck with the other, cutting her across her legs and sending her to the ground.

Now seeing his chance to gloat, Gunray looked back at Ahsoka. "Now, this is truly a delicious irony. How are you liking your new room, little one?" he taunted. Ahsoka gritted her teeth and swung at him. Her lightsaber was deflected the energy shield, though she still succeeded in forcing Gunray to take several steps back in fear.

It was at that moment that, back in the control room, the elevator opened to show Master Luminara. Quickly, she took in the sights of her Padawan, Vebb and the two Knights of Zakuul on the ground. And of Gunray standing outside his cell next to his 'rescuer'.

Quickly, she drew her green lightsaber and charged, calling "Halt, assassin!" She also used the force to push down on the lock disengage for the cell, opening the door. Ventress blocked a strike from both her and Ahsoka. But behind Luminara were the remains of Green Company, who all pointed their blasters at Asajj.

With all of those weapons aimed at her, Asajj chose not to attack. Instead, she deactivated her lightsabers and slowly placed her hands behind her head. Only for them to notice the blinking red light on the metal band around her wrist. It released a loud chime, and everyone could both hear and feel as all the bombs she had laid below deck went off, destroying the generator room and rocking the entire cruiser from side to side.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Ventress Force-pushed Luminara out of the way and ran towards the elevator. Green Company tried to shoot her down, but she deflected the shots with her lightsabers, and then used them to slide down the wall of the elevator shaft.

Asoka and Luminara followed, and Ahsoka looked down the elevator shaft. "Well, what are waiting for?" she asked, and was about to jump down. Luminara grabbed her arm just before she could, and stopped her from being crushed by the elevator that rushed right past her. "Thanks," she said.

Behind them, the ones who had been on the ground began getting back up, including the Jedi and Zakuulan Knights. Gayg groaned, asking "What happened? Where's the target?" Upon seeing that Ventress was gone, he ignited his blade and pointed it at the Jedi. "Tell us where the assassin has gone!" he demanded.

Ahsoka, Vebb and Barriss all redrew their weapons in response, but the two sides were stopped by Kei and Luminara respectively.

"Gayg, you need to calm down. Our target is no longer here. Don't waste your energy by fighting any additional foes," she advised him, grabbing him arm and slowly, but firmly, lowering it.

Gayg growled, but saw the truth in his comrade's words, and deactivated his lightsaber pike. Placing it on his back, he reached and removed his helmet. To their surprise, he was a rather young man, despite his size. His dark brown hair went well with green eyes and tanned complexion. In fact, if it weren't for the scowl that seemed fixed to his face, he might have even been considered handsome.

Kei also removed her helmet, revealing an older woman who was, to their surprise, a Rattataki. Her chalk-white skin contrasted with the black rings around her eyes and along the top of her bald head, as well as three vertical lines on her chin.

The other inhabitants of the room were momentarily stunned, surprised at having the faces of their enemies appear so… normal.

Luminara, meanwhile, stepped closer to them. "I feel as if there has been a misunderstanding. Are you not here to assassinate Viceory Nute Gunray of the Trade Federation?" she asked, keeping her words polite, though direct.

Gayg snorted, muttering "As if our Empress would waste her time worrying about that filth."

Kei sighed in annoyance, and looked at the Jedi Master. "What my headstrong fellow Knight is _trying_ to say is, no, we were not sent here to kill the viceroy. Rather, the Eternal Alliance learned of his capture on Rodia and suspected that the Confederacy would send an assassin to capture or kill him. So, we were ordered to board this ship and kill this person before they had the chance," she explained.

Luminara frowned at that. To have not only learned of the Gunray's capture so quickly not only spoke to how well their intelligence operations were, but having anticipated a rescue attempt before it even happened suggested that whoever was ordering these Knights around knew how to strategize. And that could spell problems in the future.

As it was, she said aloud "Then it appears we have a common enemy. So rather than try and kill each, and give Ventress a chance to succeed, why don't we work together to find and capture her?"

The other members of the room blinked once, twice, and then a third time.

"WHAT?!" several of them yelled, though the loudest was, predictably, Gayg. Glaring at Luminara with enough force to burn holes in paper, he said "You actually us, Knights of Zakuul and warriors of justice, to lower ourselves by working with scum like you?!"

Nadhar, meanwhile, stepped closer to the large Human. "I dare you to call the Jedi Order 'scum' again. Please, do it," he said, palming his lightsaber.

Gayg growled and took his own step forward. "I'd be happy to. And I won't even need to use my weapon to pummel you into the dirt, tuna fish," he said.

The two stared into each, spark flying that were not as figurative as the others were comfortable with. However, just as they were about to start fighting, Nadhar was pulled back by Ahsoka, while Kei slammed the butt of her pike into the back of Gayg's head. "OW!" he yelled, rubbing angrily at the spot where it had hit.

Kei, meanwhile, gave him a stone-faced look. "Knight Gayg. While your conviction to our cause and strength of your belief are indeed commendable, we are still Knights, not savages. If you cannot exercise control over yourself and your emotions, then I will be forced to report your behavior to the High Justice," she said sternly.

That caused him to freeze. While he was one of the most physically strong Knights in the order—not counting the ones who had gotten cybernetics—he couldn't hold a candle to High Justice Beniko, be it in either Force power or lightsaber skill. If she decided that he needed to be given a lesson, and decided to do that with a spar…

No, he'd rather not spend a few weeks in a hospital bed, thank you very much.

And so, successfully cowed, Gayg nodded and stepped back to let Kei take over. The older Knight took a moment to compose herself, before speaking. "While not to same extent as my partner, I can't help but also feel uneasy about what you're suggesting. Our two factions are at war; working together against a common threat is not something I enjoy the prospect of," she said.

Luminara nodded sagely. "And yet it is the best course of action for all of us. If we work together, then we will be far more likely to succeed in defeating this assassin. And once that is done, not only will your mission be complete, but we can finish our mission to transport the viceroy to Coruscant. So, why not work together rather than ruin each other's chances for success?" she countered.

Kei considered this, in which time the atmosphere in the room became tense. Eventually, however, she nodded. "Very well. We can try working together to fight the same enemy. But if you Jedi show even the slightest hint of betraying us, we will respond with force," she warned.

"The same could be said for you," Ahsoka added.

While Luminara gave the Padawan a look of warning, both Knights nodded and placed their helmets back on. "Then, just this once, work together we shall," she said.

* * *

 **Later…**

"This is ridiculous," Ahsoka muttered angrily, pacing back and forth. While Luminara went after Ventress alongside Kei and Nadhar, she had been left here to guard Gunray _again_ , only this time with Barriss and Gayg.

"Is that so? Do you think Master to be too weak to defeat this assassin?" Barriss asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ahsoka shook her head. "No, it's not that. She's a great Jedi. But even she doesn't know what that bog witch is capable of. Not one idea," she said.

Gayg nodded. "I agree. A skilled Jedi she may be, but the Eternal Alliance would not have sent _two_ Knights unless they believed our enemy to be too strong to defeat in single combat. Still, if Kei is assisting her, they may yet pull through," he said.

"Besides, we can't disobey a direct order. We were told to stay here, and that is what we'll do," Barriss said firmly.

Ahsoka grunted, acknowledging the point. "Still, I don't feel right leaving them to face her without us. Wouldn't we have a better chance if we all pitched in?" she pointed out.

Neither Force-user had a counter to that. Captain Argyus, however, did speak up. "Sometimes, being a good soldier means doing what you think is right. That's why we're superior to droids," he stated.

They all looked at him, and he smiled reassuringly. "We've got things under control here. Go, help your friends," he said.

All too eager to agree, Ahsoka and Gayg nodded before running off. Barriss hesitated for a moment, debating whether to follow or obey… and then followed.

* * *

The door to the generator room slid open, and the trio of Nadhar, Luminara and Kei entered. They could feel Ventress's presence within this room, a seething mass of darkness and anger, with both forces intent on only destruction. The flames from the destroyed generators made it easier to see, but there was no sign of her.

Until they heard the sound of lightsaber igniting, and looked up to see the female assassin falling towards them. Quickly they scattered, and avoided the blast of Force energy she released when her feet hit the floor. Luminara activated her own blade and charged, with Nadhar and Kei closed behind. Ventress blocked both Jedi and then moved back when Kei tried to stab her through the chest. Luminara pursued her, but then Ventress sliced off a section of the generator next to the, causing the gas fumes inside to shoot out and hit the Mirialan straight in the face.

Luminara cried out in pain and fell back. Her right eye was blinded, and she instinctively placed a hand over it. Ventress would have taken this chance to strike, where it not for Kei charging and also Force-throwing a stray pipe at her from the side. She ducked underneath the pipe and blocked her overhead strike, though the strength behind the blow made standing her ground difficult.

She managed, however, and disengaged from the Knight before hitting her with a blast of energy, sending her back. Luminara moved in front of her while she was down, glaring at Ventress.

The Dathomirian smirked. "Tell me, will you all still be able to use the Force once I take your heads?" she taunted.

Rather than become enraged, Luminara said "I knew him long enough to recognize Count Dooku's fighting style when I see it. He was a master of the Makashi Form. Your version, however, is unrefined. Erratic. Sloppy."

Ventress went stiff for a second, her surprise showing on her face. After a moment, however, that surprise gave way to rage, and she screamed before running towards the Jedi. Every swing was now meant to kill, rather than disable, and she struck with savage abandon. Nadhar came from the side to attack, but she kicked him in the chest hard enough to break two ribs, and also sending him flying through the air.

The Mon Calamari managed to grab the side of the walkway to avoid falling to his death, through every breath now caused him great pain. Kei huffed as she was forced to block another strike from Ventress, who was using her dual lightsabers to hold off both her and Luminara. She could feel the intensity of the fight wearing down on her, but she tried to stave it off. Her species was a race of fighters; Rattataki only fell in battle to the weapons of their enemies!

She spun her pike in her hand and swung the blunt end at Ventress's legs, hoping to break them. But the assassin hopped over the attack and swung with her lightsabers, slicing the pike in half.

Thankfully, the act didn't cause the lightsaber portion to lose power, though the severed half of her pike could be used a weapon. A fact proven when Ventress launched it to hit her in the stomach. Though her armor mitigated the force behind the blow, it still sent her staggering back as bright spots danced in her vision.

Luminara tried to use her own telekinesis to send Asajj away, but she copied the action. The two Force-users pushed against each other, trying to overpower each other. The metal of the floor between them began buckling, unable to withstand the pressure… and then both of them were blasted away. Luminara went past the walkway and began falling downwards, while Asajj flipped over in the air and managed to catch her balance.

Seeing a set of large pipes above where Luminara would fall, she landed against one of the generators and used it to launch herself upwards.

"Nice try, but no luck!" Kei called, who reached out with the Force and pulled her back downwards. Her momentum suddenly reversed, she took advantage of it and grabbed both Kei and Nadhar, pulling them down with her. Ventress landed on her feet atop a fallen pipe, but she directed them to fall right onto Luminara, injuring all three of them.

While they struggled to recover, she glared down at them. "And with this, you fall," she said, leaping forward… just as Ahsoka, Barriss and Gayg arrived from the door at the other end.

"No!" Gayg roared, and flung both hands forward. A sphere of solid light gathered between them before shooting forward, nearly blurring from sight due to its speed. Ventress was unable to react in time and was hit by the sphere, which exploded in blast that sent her careening away.

Gayg panted and fell to one knee. Higher-level Force techniques were not his specialty, and that one had taken a lot out of him. Ahsoka and Barriss used this chance to rush towards their fallen comrades and help them up. Once Luminara was able to stand, she looked at Ahsoka in surprise. "I know, I know. You told us to stay, and we didn't," the Padawan said.

Luminara sighed. "Well, as long as you're here…" she said, smiling. Ahsoka smiled back, and the Jedi and Knights of Zakuul refocused once Ventress came close. Small trails of smoke were still rising from her front, which was covered in small burns from the orb of light. She growled but, knowing that even she wouldn't win against all six of them, she Force-leaped back up to the walkway from before and ran.

The other Force-users followed, but she had disappeared from view. "We have to find her. If she manages to escape with Gunray, it will all have been for nothing," Kei said. The others nodded and they continued looking.

Above them, hiding behind the same pipes she had been planning on using, Ventress grinned and pressed a button on her wrist communicator.

Unaware of what had just happened, the Knights and Jedi continued searching the room for Ventress, knowing that she hadn't left yet.

As they searched, Luminara looked over. "Ahsoka. This assassin… I've not faced an enemy like this. I should have listened to your advice," she admitted.

Ahsoka bowed her head. "Master, I never meant to overstep my bounds, but-" she began, but stopped when they heard Luminara's communicator go off. Opening the channel, they heard Commander Gree as well as what sounded like blaster fire.

" _General Unduli, we've been betrayed. Argyus has freed Gunray_ ," he said.

* * *

 **Moments before…**

The communicator on Captain Argyus's wrist began flashing green and beeping. One of the other guards, out of curiosity, asked "What's going on with that, Captain?"

"Oh, nothing to worry about," he said, before spinning around and blasting that guard in the chest. The other one also fell before he could react, and then Argyus opened Gunray's cell.

"What are you doing?!" Commander Gree yelled. But then he was forced to take cover when Argyus began shooting at him. The guard grabbed Gunray and pulled him in front, using the viceroy as a living shield.

"Don't move. Count Dooku is paying me a fortune to deliver you to him, so try to stay alive," he said. Gunray quickly nodded and didn't struggle, only let himself be guided along.

But Commander wasn't about to let them leave, and moved from behind his cover. "Stop! This is your last warning!" he said.

Argyus stopped, but didn't surrender. "Bold, but we both know you won't shoot. You want the viceroy unharmed, and that means no shooting him," he said triumphantly.

For a moment, there was a pause, and it looked as if Gree was about to lower his weapon. Indeed, the point of his blaster rifle did lower… and then he fired, hitting Argyus's gun and shooting it out of his hand. Argyus grunted and shoved Gunray away, charging at Gree. The clone blocked the initial punch but failed to notice the rising knee, which hit him in the chin hard enough to take his helmet off.

Gree took a step back but was otherwise unfazed. The two began circling each other, waiting for other to strike. Since he had the chance, he asked "Why?"

Argyus snorted. "A _clone_ like you would never understand. I wanted a life, one that consisted of more than just being someone's servant. It's like I told the Padawan. Being a soldier means doing what you think is right," he said, before lunging for Gree's blaster.

But Gree stopped him and kicked him away. Looking down at him with disdain, he said "And for that, you'd betray the Republic? You and I have very different ideas on what makes a good soldier." Only for him to be knocked out by Gunray, who hit him on the head with what was left of Argyus's gun. "And you should have taken my offer when you had the chance," he stated.

The Captain got back up and activated his communicator to signal Ventress while he led Gunray to their escape ship.

* * *

Kei paused, focusing on her hearing. Above them, she could hear something… beeping?

"There!" she said, and threw her lightsaber pike up and behind her. Ventress quickly moved out of the way to avoid being impaled, and leaped for the ventilation shaft. Gayg and Ahsoka followed after her, but she threw her last bomb behind her and instantly set it off.

The explosion sent her foes hurtling back while she was rocketed forward, going right into the shaft and out of sight. Luminara grabbed both of them with the Force to keep them from falling, and lowered them back to the ground.

Quickly, they began rushing towards the escape pods, knowing that they were Ventress's only wat of getting off the _Tranquility_. However, it was for naught, as they reached the pods just as one fired, no doubt carrying Ventress inside it.

"Damn!" Ahsoka said, slamming her fist against the wall. "Even after all of that, that worm got away," she muttered angrily.

Only for them to hear both Gayg and Kei chuckling. When the other Jedi looked at them, Kei removed her helmet and smiled. "That's where you're wrong. While you Jedi may believe in showing all of your moves and hoping it's enough to defeat your enemy, the Eternal Alliance has always been taught to keep an ace in the hole," she said, and also removed the gauntlet on her right arm.

Beneath the gauntlet was a communicator, one which she activated. After a few seconds, a voice spoke from the other end, one that was both robotic and female. " _GEMINI Units 2583 through 2587, awaiting orders_ ," it said.

Now grinning almost ear-to-ear, Kei said "Commence fire on the nearest Consular-class Republic cruiser. Do not stop until the ship has been completely destroyed."

* * *

Argyus leaned back in the pilot seat, letting the hyperdrive charge. It wasn't as if he to worry about the _Tranquility_ shooting them down. After all, their systems were still going haywire thanks to all those bombs Ventress set off.

"As successful a rescue as one could hope for, viceroy. I'll become a legend for this, and the reward from Count Dooku will set me up for life," he said.

Gunray nodded, simply happy to be away from the Republic. "I always had a good feeling about you, Captain," he said.

But just then, the ship began blaring as it sensors detected movement. The Eternal Fleet battlecruisers, which had been stationary ever since the Knights had boarded, suddenly turned around and began aiming for them.

Neither Gunray or Argyus had a chance to scream before they became two more pieces of space debris.

* * *

The Jedi aboard the _Tranquility_ watched as the battlecruisers rained a storm of laserfire down on the ship with Gunray in it, hitting the ship's engines in seconds and causing it to go up in flames. Yet the Eternal Fleet didn't stop firing until after a full minute. By that time there was, according to the so-called GEMINI droids,"a mathematically negligible chance of any life-forms surviving".

Unfortunately, they could sense that Ventress had not been destroyed along with the ship, having likely turned her escape pod to fly away once she saw the Eternal Fleet start shooting.

"Well, looks like neither of us managed to secure a 'win'. Gunray is dead, and that Asajj woman is still alive. When the High Justice hears about this, she's not going to be pleased," Gayg said, crossing his arms in frustration.

Barriss sighed, but still managed to smile. "But at least we kept Gunray from getting back to the Separatists. That's something," she pointed out.

Nadhar nodded, and looked at the two Knights. "So… what now? With our common enemy gone, what are we to do about each other?" he asked.

The Knights and the Jedi looked at each, and everyone could feel the tension rise in response to Vebb's question. Gayg stiffened, and resisted the urge to go for his weapon. Kei and Luminara stared at each other, waiting for one of them to make a move… and then Kei sighed.

"Now, we go home. This war isn't ending tomorrow or the day after. I'm sure we'll have plenty of chances to hack each other to pieces before everything's said and done," she said frankly.

"I agree. We'll return to Coruscant, and you may take your leave," Luminara said.

Ahsoka sighed in relief. After all the fighting today, she wasn't looking to start things up again. Still, she couldn't help but smile. "Well, then we'll see you again. On the battlefield."

Gayg and Kei both nodded. "On the battlefield," Gayg said, before Kei redonned her helmet and gauntlet, and they left to board their ships.

* * *

 **A few days later…**

As they stood before the doors leading to the throne room, Gayg and Kei both took a deep breath. What they were about to do was something that no one, from the highest Exarch to the lowest soldiers, ever enjoyed doing. Reporting to their superior, knowing that they were to be the bearer of bad news. What was worse, they had arrived at just the same time as when the High Justice was spending her free time—something she rarely ever obtained—with the Empress.

Which meant that they would be reporting to both the highest member of the Knights of Zakuul… and the one person to stood above that. Not good.

But they too were Knights. They had been taught to never submit to an enemy, and to always face any challenge without running away.

…Even though they _really_ wanted to. Seriously, they'd rather be stuck on droid maintenance than do this, which in itself was a pointless position to be assigned to since the droids mostly cleaned up after themselves.

Gayg sighed. "Well, might as well get this over with," he said, to which Kei nodded. With the press of a button, the doors slid open, and the two Knights walked in.

The throne room looked the same as it always had been, consisting of a large transparent sphere that enabled its inhabitants to look out in any direction and see the stars. A single walkway led from the doors to a small set of steps, atop which was the Eternal Throne. Having sensed their arrival, the High Justice descended the steps to meet them, and the Knights looked upon the person who could very well order their doom.

Contrary to her reputation, the High Justice was not a hulking, menacing figure that just reeked of malevolence. Rather, she was a human of only slightly higher than average height. Her armor was of the same design as the Knights, only her was obsidian black with gray outlines. Her skin was fair and her hair was blonde, reaching down to just above her shoulders. And her eyes, once green, were now a smoldering yellow due to her experience with Dark Side.

This woman went by the name of Lana Beniko, and had served as the High Justice as well as the Empress's advisor for more than three thousand years. Her strength in the Force was nearly unmatched by anyone within the Eternal Alliance, and her authority only trumped by the one who sat on the Eternal Throne.

Looking at them both, Lana said "Knights Kei and Gayg. I'm glad to see you made it back to us safe and sound. Report to me on the success of your mission."

Neither Knight missed how she said 'success' instead of 'status'. Clearing his throat nervously, Gayg said "Actually, your Excellency… our mission ended… in failure."

Silence.

Lana stared at Gayg for several moments, during which time a cold sweat broken out underneath his armor. Even when reaching out with the Force, he could feel nothing for her emotions. As always, she kept them completely in check. She then looked over to Kei, and asked "Is this true? Did you fail to kill the Sith assassin as you were assigned?"

Kei bowed her head. "We did fail. The assassin received aide from one of the Republic's own soldiers, who betrayed his comrades and helped facilitate her escape. We managed to prevent her from leaving with the Trade Federations' viceroy or the turncoat soldier, but the assassin herself escaped," she explained.

Lana considered this silently. Doing so deliberately let the two of them stew in their own worry and allowed their minds to conjure up any sort of mental images of what their punishment would be. In her experience, fear of punishment was almost as effective as the punishment itself. And while she could accept the reasons behind Gayg's and Kei's failure, the simple fact of the matter was that failure come at a price.

Eventually, she spoke again. "In the weeks since its emergence, the Eternal Alliance has shown no failure in eliminating a target, and have built a reputation of complete dominance. Yet this one act will serve to break that streak. What do the two of you believe would serve as a suitable punishment for something such as this?"

The two Knights stared at her, trying to keep from being hopeful. A question like that could very well mean that she was going to go easy on them… or the question itself was a test that would determine their punishment.

Deciding to go with the latter, Kei carefully formulated her response in her head. Eventually, she said "For committing such a transgression as this, the most extreme punishment would be death. But doing so would only be a waste and serve no purpose in bettering the Alliance or its campaign. So, the best course of action would be whatever short of death that you wish to have done to us."

She waited with anticipation for a response from Lana, who was considering her words.

From behind her, they could hear the Empress laugh, and they looked up to her. She looked down at them, and they could see that her words had pleased her. "Spoken like a true believer in our cause. Well put," she said.

Lana nodded in agreement. "And you're right, killing you for this failure will accomplish nothing. Therefore, the two of you will spend the immediate future re-training under the guidance of Hunter Killer Droid 55, who will instruct the both of you on proper assassination of targets. And you will stay on this assignment until I order otherwise," she ordered.

Both Knights went ramrod straight. They were to undergo assassination training… with HK-55?

Maybe they should have asked for death after all.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap on this chapter. Now you all know who the High Justice of the Knight of Zakuul is, and Nute Gunray is now floating as a smoldered carcass somewhere in the depths of space. What will happen in the next chapter? Stay tuned to find out!**

 **Please review! If you flame me then Bruce Lee will smash you with his nunchaku. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)**


	4. Chapter 4: Chilly Conflict

Author's Note: I do not own Star Wars or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to the respective owners.

* * *

 **And here's the next chapter of Eternal Rule. Glad to see this story getting the support that it is, as that helps my enthusiasm a great deal. But before we get to the chapter itself, here are the replies to the latest reviews!**

 **Greymon Leader Batx flashpoint: There will definitely be repercussions for Gunray's death, even if they don't show up immediately.**

 **FireUpTheIQ: You'll get your answer to that this chapter.**

 **Davycrockett100: Thank you for your kind words.**

 **Karaguha: The Empress is neither a protagonist or an antagonist, and her future actions will highlight that. For that sake of having a literacy term for her though, the best one would porbably be "anti-hero".**

 **And Jathagarth: I'm glad that you like it so much, as the idea of the two ears meetig has always been a point of wonder for me. I have played the two most recent expansions, and while there is a crowd of people who did not like then, I am one of those that did. And I am intrigued by the idea you suggested. Did you write it?**

 **And now, we begin!**

* * *

Ch.4 Chilly Conflict

Senator Padmé Amidala worked hard to prevent herself from sighing. Once again, her efforts to reach out to any of the Separatist-aligned worlds, be it to either sway them to their side or pursue a peace treaty, had ended in failure. Either the representatives of the planet didn't want to discuss it, had rejected her messengers before they even had the chance to bring it up, or both. It was almost as if they _wanted_ the war to keep going.

"Work bringing you down?" she heard a voice ask. Smiling despite herself, she looked and saw Anakin Skywalker, her husband—it still felt wonderful to say that—enter her office. He had that trademark smirk of his on, the one that could both infatuate and infuriate her. Much like the man himself.

"You could say that. The hearings in the Senate have come to almost a standstill regarding any minimizing of the war effort. Now, it's pretty much everyone shouting at each other over and over until the session's over," Padmé said.

Anakin nodded. "So, I've heard. But since Gunray died, wouldn't that have made the peace talks easier?" he asked curiously.

Padmé shook her head. "You would think it would, but no. In fact, that probably only made things worse. Ever since his death, representatives from both the Trade Federation _and_ his home planet of Cato Neimoidia have been lobbying the Senate to taker a firmer stance in the war. They want revenge against Zakuul and the Eternal Alliance for what happened," she explained.

Anakin frowned. "Then they're going to be shouting for a while. All that the search for Zakuul has revealed is that it isn't anywhere from the Deep Core out to the Expansion Regions. Even then, that still leaves most of the galaxy for them to be hiding in," he said.

"Exactly. And we've been trying to tell them that, but they won't listen. They want blood, and the longer it takes to spill it, the less they're going to care who it's from," Padmé said, the sigh she had been fighting back finally escaping her.

Anakin moved behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. Without saying anything, he merely began moving his fingers and massaging the stiff muscles there. Padmé blinked in surprise but didn't stop him. It felt great.

Unbeknownst to her, Anakin was actually using the Force in a minute capacity, using it to send healing energy from his hands into her. He wasn't nearly as good at it as some of the other Jedi; he much preferred fighting. But it got the job done, as he felt the tension slowly melt away from Padmé's shoulders and neck.

Eventually, he had managed to remove all the stiffness, and Padme leaned back into her chair, this time sighing in relaxation. Looking up at him, she said "Thank you. I needed that."

Anakin leaned down and kissed her slowly, taking the time to enjoy the sensation. It was always worth it to spend time with his angel, no matter when. Just being in her presence was enough to fill him with warmth. And where he was going, he was going to need it.

As it was, the moment had to end, and he pulled back. "I should go. Obi-Wan and I are supposed to investigate an attacked outpost on some ice planet. We leave soon," he told her.

Padme grunted, just as unhappy as he was at not being able to continue, but accepting it all the same. "Take care not to get any frostbite while you're there," she said teasingly.

Anakin's chuckle of laughter was the last she heard of him as he left, and she returned to her work with a smile on her face.

* * *

It was freezing winds and lots of snow that hit the Jedi first. The moment the gunships landed down on the surface of Orto Plutonia, they were beset by waves of ice and snow courtesy of the storm all around them. Anakin and Obi-Wan, along with the clone troopers, had to wear full-bodied thermal gear with additional padding to keep themselves from freezing.

Their escort, on the other hand, had no need for such protection. Both of them were humanoid aliens with a very similar composition to humans, save for blue skin and yellow eyes. The first one was a young woman with long pastel purple hair held up in a headdress, as well as a set of ceremonial robes. The other was an older male with white hair beneath his cap, more sterns features, and wearing a crisp military uniform. These were Senator Riyo Chuchi and Chairman Chi Cho, the ones they had been assigned to escort and representatives of the nearby moon of Pantora.

Anakin shivered as the winds hit him in the face. Obi-Wan fared only marginally better, commenting "And this is the planet's tropical zone!"

"It's not Tatooine, that's for sure," Anakin replied, before looking back at his troops. "Rex, have your men unload all the gear and place as many sensors beacons around as possible. It'll get dark soon," he ordered.

"Right away, sir. You heard him, men! Move it!" Rex replied, saluting him before walking off. Behind them were C-3PO and R2-D2, the former having been brought due to his status as a diplomatic droid.

And the moment he was off the gunship, he started complaining. "My word, it is frigid out here. Why would the Republic want an outpost all the way out on this planet?" he thought aloud. When R2 responded in a series of beeps, the droid stared. "Because the Chairman requested it? Why would he do something like that?" he asked.

Looking over at said Chairman and the Senator, Obi-Wan said "Until the area is secure, it would be best for you two to wait here."

Chairman Cho snorted in disdain. "I respect your judgement, General, but this is sovereign Pantora territory. I will go in it where I choose," he stated.

"Wait. Sovereign territory? I thought this planet was uninhabited? If it is, then it's not aligned with any government," Anakin said.

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. Cho stepped closer to Anakin and leaned down so that they were at eye level. "Our moon of Pantora is the only civilized planet in this system, and _I'm_ the one who asked the Senate to protect this planet. It belongs to us," he said, making it clear that he wasn't taking no for an answer.

Unfortunately, that was exactly the answer Obi-Wan had. "With all due respect, Chairman, that's for the Senate to decide, not us," he said.

"Ah, but the Jedi reports to the Senate, one of which is Senator Chuchi here," the Chairman countered, waving a hand at the Senator.

At being put on the stand, Chuchi spoke up. "Technically speaking, Master Kenobi, he is correct. Since Ori Plutonia is uninhabited, Pantora has the right to act as its protectorate, and will retain that right," she said.

Conceding the point, Kenobi left to join up with the troops and they began making their way towards the nearby outpost. The outpost itself had been the entire reason for coming here. It had only been recently established, and yet the communications with it had stopped overnight. Which usually meant one of two things. Either the entire outpost itself had been destroyed… or it was still standing and everyone there had been killed.

Once they reached the outpost, the fact that there was no wreckage confirmed the latter possibility. However, once they had opened the main doors, they were treated to a rather strange sight.

In front of them were a series of spikes set into the ground in a semicircle. And on top of each spike was the helmet of a clone trooper. No bodies, just the helmets. The further into the outpost they ventured, the more helmets on spikes they kept seeing. The bodies of the clones they belonged to began appearing soon after. Even stranger, however, was that there were no blaster marks on any of the bodies. It looked as if the troops have been fought with more primitive weapons, such as spears or swords.

Looking around at the carnage, Chairman Cho said "Savagery like this can only be the work of the Separatists. Get the weapon systems back online and the shields operational. There's no telling what they have planned."

Riyo looked at him. "Chairman, what makes you so certain the Separatists are the ones behind this attack?" she asked hesitantly.

Cho looked at her as if she had just asked whether snow was cold. "Look around you, Senator. Isn't the damage before us proof enough? For all we know, they could be planning to make a forward base to attack Pantora," he said.

"Yes, I'm aware that it's possible. But there are no dead droids here, no blast marks on the bodies. It's not consistent with what-" she said, only for the Chairman to interrupt her.

"So, you're an expert on warfare now, are you, Senator Chuchi?" he demanded.

Riyo lowered her gaze. "No, Chairman, I only-"

"Let me tell you something, Senator. I've been in the position I am in for longer than you've been alive, and seen over a hundred governments fall through force of arms. I will not let Pantora become one of them, even if it costs me my life. Are you willing to make that sacrifice?" he asked bitingly.

The senator was silent, thoroughly cowed by her senior's diatribe. However, Obi-Wan spoke up. "I don't think we're dealing the Separatists here. Nor does this look like the work of the Eternal Alliance," he said.

As if to confirm this, Anakin appeared. "Master, the sensors are in place. Our forward scouts also found an abandoned droid base nearby, and-" he began.

"A droid base? See, I told you this was Separatists!" Cho interrupted again, glaring at the Jedi.

Anakin glared right back, and continued "And their base had been attacked just like ours. Droid heads on spikes and everything. Their comm logs placed this as the last transmission they received." Taking out a holoprojector, he replayed the message. In front of them appeared the hologram of a droid soldier, who was firing at… something.

" _Unit 685 to command. Our retreat has been blocked, and we need reinforcements!"_ it said urgently. After a few moments of firing, the droid added " _It's no good! They've overrun the base! Ahh!_ "

Just then, the droid was tackled from behind by a large mass. It attacked too swiftly for them to get a good look at it, but they saw that it was covered in white fur and had a set of large claws, as evidenced by the fact that it used them to shear the droid's head off. And with that, the message ended.

Obi-Wan ran a hand over his beard, thinking. "Whatever that thing was, it's a strong warrior. Where did the transmission come from?" he asked.

It was Rex who answered, stating "According to the comm logs, that droid was part of a squad investigating the southern canyon."

"Then that's where we'll start looking for whoever's responsible for this. Rex, stay here and guard the Senator and Chairman. We're going to take a look," Anakin ordered.

After getting their speeders to warm up enough to take outside, the two Jedi raced through he snow-covered landscape. The coordinates for where the droid had fallen were already programmed, and they arrived in little time.

Once there, they found the headless remains of the droid squad, with the missing heads once again on spikes next to them. Beyond that, there was no other evidence as to who had attacked them. However, once he took out a pair of macrobinoculars, Obi-Wan noticed something odd. "I'm seeing reflections of light coming from several of the cliffs. Anakin, can you see it?" he asked.

Taking out his own set, Anakin looked and saw the same thing. "Yep. Whoever it is, they know we're coming," he said, quickly putting them away and getting back in the speeder.

Obi-Wan did the same, and they sped further into the canyon. Near the end of it, across an ice bridge, they finally found their unknown attackers.

It was a small village composed of primitive huts, built into the wall of the cliff and filled with aliens. Each of them were large, bipedal and covered in shaggy white fur with five-fingered clawed hands. They each had four black eyes, one pair smaller than the other, and small proboscis tubes for mouths. Accompanying them were a set of cat-like mounts, who growled at the Jedi came closer.

Anakin and Obi-Wan came to a stop in front of the village, and slowly got out. The Talz slowly came closer, several of them holding sharp spears. Anakin began to reach for his lightsaber, but Obi-Wan said "Steady, my former Padawan. We haven't done anything to provoke them, unlike the droids or our troops must have. Let's try to resolve this peacefully."

Slowly, reluctantly, Anakin let go of his lightsaber and nodded, looking at the Talz's spears warily. Letting Obi-Wan take the lead, the two of them approached the village and were stopped by a pair of guards. However, one of the Talz, taller than others and wearing a sort of headdress, waved them aside. The guards relented and the lead Talz walked away, gesturing for the Jedi to follow.

Doing so, Anakin commented "Too bad we didn't bring Threepio with us. How exactly are we going to communicate with these things?"

"I'll think of something," was his former Master's reply.

The Talz leader led them inside a one of the huts, inside of which were several others around a fire.

The two Jedi sat opposite of them, and the lead Talz began talking. What he was trying to say, however, was completely unintelligible to the Jedi, having no idea what the series of chirps, buzzes and snarls meant in Basic. Trying to get their message across, Obi-Wan said "We come to you in peace. We mean you no harm."

Anakin blinked as an idea came to him, and he picked up one of the cloths on the ground before grabbing a piece of charcoal from the fire. Quickly, he drew a picture of two stick figures shaking hands, and showed it to the Talz. "Peace," he said slowly.

The Talz stared at the drawing, but the lead one shifted his gaze to the Jedi. The two sides didn't speak for almost a minute until, finally, the Talz nodded his head.

* * *

Later, Obi-Wan and Anakin returned to the outpost just as it was getting dark outside. However, their expressions did not speak of success. Rather, their expressions were grave, and Rex could tell something was bad even before he spoke.

"Glad to have you back, sir. It's getting dark out there, and the storm's picking up as well," he said.

Anakin nodded. "You don't know the half of it," he said glumly.

Before Rex could ask what the problem was, the two Jedi were approached by Chairman Cho and Senator Chuchi. "General. What did you find?" Cho asked.

"It would seem, unlike what we first thought, that this planet actually is inhabited. By a tribe of Talz nonetheless," Obi-Wan said.

The chairman's eyes widened, before he sneered. "That is completely impossible. Our explorers have spent much time here over Pantora's history, and never found anyone living here. These creatures must be trespassers," he stated.

Anakin shook his head. "Actually, Chairman, the Talz aren't advanced enough as a species to master space travel. Which would mean that they've always lived here, even longer than Pantora has been around," he explained.

Senator Chuchi added on, saying "Your majesty, if there are lifeforms here, then it the Senate who must decide jurisdiction."

But Chairman Cho wasn't taking no for an answer. "Then those creatures belong to us, just as this whole system belongs to us. Besides, they're savages. Look at what they did to this place; they massacred our troops! Captain Rex, prepare your troops for battle!" he ordered.

Anakin waved his hand, belaying the order. "The Talz only want to be left alone. Even if we're on different sides, they don't want to fight, and we promised that we wouldn't retaliate," he said.

The chairman was about to go on another tirade when he paused, processing what Anakin said. "Different sides? What do you mean?" he asked.

Obi-Wan sighed, hoping that this wouldn't come up until later. "We spoke with the tribe's leader, who had a translator droid with them. The droid was a gift from the ones they've pledged their allegiance to: The Eternal Alliance."

For a moment, there was silent, and both Cho and Riyo stared at them in shock. Until, however, that shock gave way to rage. "WHAT?! You mean to say that these beasts not only attacked _our_ troops, wrecked _our_ outpost and are living on _our_ planet, but work for the Eternal Alliance as well?!" he shouted, before looking at Rex. "Captain, prepare your troops this instant. We are going to find those animals and wipe them from the face of this wasteland!" he commanded.

"No!" Senator Chuchi shouted, causing Cho to look at her. "Chairman, if the Jedi are able to communicate with them, and they don't wish to fight, this can be solved diplomatically. There's no need to force the issue," she said.

"Be silent, Chairman. It's clear the Convention of Civilized Systems doesn't cover these creatures. The Jedi Council has no say in this matter, and I will not let an enemy of Pantora sit at its doorstep," Cho said firmly.

Obi-Wan sighed. It was taking all of his considerable patience to stay calm right now. "We managed to arrange a meeting with Thi-Sen, their leader. If we wish to make it at the arranged time, we should leave soon," he said.

That was something the Chairman did agree with, and they began to prepare along with half of the clones that had arrived with them.

* * *

The moment they reached the fallen droid station, Chairman Cho took charge. "Captain, place your men along that ice ridge. We will attack the Talz as soon as they arrive," he said.

"You will do no such thing!" Obi-Wan said firmly.

"I will do such thing, and you will do as I command! This planet is under my jurisdiction!" Cho yelled.

"On the contrary, Chairman, you have no power here. The Talz have had their scouts following us for some time, and are already here. Apparently, Thi-Sen trusts you just as much as your trust him." Anakin said.

Indeed, the Talz began emerging from beyond the same ice ridge Chi had wanted the troops stationed at, sitting on their mounts. Several nonmounted ones had been hiding in the snow, and burst out from underneath without warning. The clones reacted and pointed their blasters, but didn't shoot. And the Talz raised their spears, but didn't charge.

Their point proven, the Jedi walked into the droid outpost, C-3PO, Riyo and a steaming Chairman Cho following behind them.

Thi-Sen and several other Talz were waiting inside, and tensed once they approached. Upon seeing the Jedi, however, they calmed down. Obi-Wan and Anakin bowed their heads. "Your highness. We have returned, as promised," Anakin said.

C-3PO stepped forward and repeated their words in Talzzi. Thi-Sen responded, and the droid translated. "Chieftain Thi-Sen welcomes you to his home, and hopes that you come in peace. While he cannot speaks for the other Talz tribes amongst the galaxy, he does wish to be good neighbors regardless of your allegiance. Still, he requests that you leave his planet."

Obi-Wan blinked. Other tribes? "Wait. You mean to say that there are other Talz tribes who have joined the Eternal Alliance?" he asked.

"Indeed. The Talz on not only this planet, but on Hoth and Alzoc III have all joined the Alliance in exchange for being given the status as a free and equal people once it conquers the galaxy. However, should the Republic be willing to offer the same, there is no reason my tribe cannot change sides," Threepio told them.

Seeing the Chairman's expression flash with anger, Senator Chuchi quickly said "Perhaps I should represent Pantora in this matter."

"Not on your life, Senator. Droid, you will translate my exact words," the chairman responded before stepping in front of the Talz. "Listen to me, you brute. This planet is under the rule of moon of Pantora. As Pantora's exalted ruler, you will not command me to leave this planet or to go anywhere! And even if you could, I would never heed any words from someone allied with an enemy of the Republic!"

There was silent, and the Threepio muttered "Oh dear," before relaying that message to Thi-Sen. As predicted, the Talz began snarling and waving his arms around, pointing a clawed finger at the chairman. Once he was done, Threepio said "The great Thi-Sen, 'Son of Suns', asks again that you leave. If you do not, they will declare war."

Before the Jedi or the Senator could stop him, Chairman Cho said, "Then war it is."

C-3PO hesitated, before saying as such in Talzzi. Thi-Sen stared for a moment, before grunting and walking past them. By the time the Jedi and their escort exited the outpost, the entire tribe was already gone.

* * *

Chairman Cho was leading the group of troopers back to the outpost. Deciding that the usual route would leave them too open, they had decided to take another path through the canyon to get back. Unfortunately, the Talz knew the environment like the back of their hands, and three of them were already lying in wait.

The chairman's eyes narrowed. "Here they are. Once you're in range, open fire," he said.

Rex was about to respond that they were only there for protection, when suddenly over a dozen Talz burst out of the snow, clubs in hand. "Ambush! Defensive formation!" he yelled.

The other troopers responded by opening fire on the charging Talz, who either avoided the blasterfire or were shot down. Those that avoided it were able to use their clubs to knock the clones off their bikes as they sped past, denting armor and breaking bones while their speeders kept going and crashed.

Rex's own speeder was knocked over by a leaping Talz, who instantly started smashing the windshield to try and break through. Rex ejected himself from the speeder and drew a pair of dual pistols.

With several quick shots, he killed the Talz and its mount, before using the fallen speeder bike as cover. The other clones managed to stop their bikes and form a circle with them. However, more Talz emerged on the cliffs surrounding them, and began throwing spears.

One such spear was about to impale Chi when one of his bodyguards yelled "Chairman, get down!" and tackled him. The move saved the Chairman from being hit, though the cost was that the spear stabbed the bodyguard through the spine.

More of them began falling, even as the move advanced weapons of the troops cut down on the Talz's numbers. But more of them kept coming to replace the ones that had fallen, quickly putting the clones at a disadvantage. "We can't fall here. First squad, cover the retreat!" Rex ordered, shooting three more Talz down as he spoke.

The chairman had drawn his own blaster pistol and was also fighting. However, upon hearing Rex, he looked over at the clone commander with shock. "Retreat? Are you mad? We can't retreat from these animals!" he yelled. Only for his other bodyguard to also be struck down with a spear.

And less than a second later, his own world erupted in pain when a spear hit the chairman in the back, the tip of it going deep enough to pierce his stomach. "Savages…" he managed to mutter, before falling over.

"Chairman!" Rex yelled, running towards him. Several Talz managed to break the perimeter their bikes formed, but he shot them down once they were close enough. The other clones covered for him once he picked up the Chairman and slung him over the front of one of the bikes. Then he got on and, without waiting for the others, sped off.

The rest of his comrades were right behind him, with the Talz in pursuit.

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

Back at the Republic outpost, Senator Chuchi was trying to establish contact with Pantroa's Speaker of the Assembly. Apparently, due to this being an internal affair of Pantora, the only way the Jedi would be allowed to intervene was if they were petitioned to. And the Speaker was the only one who could grant that petition.

Thankfully, fate was kind enough to let the storm begin passing up, and that enabled them to make the connection.

"Senator Riyo Chuchi, the Assembly has concluded that the actions of Chairman Chi Cho are indeed out of order. You are hereby given the authority to negotiate a peaceful settlement between the Talz of Orto Plutonia and the sovereign planet of Pantora," the Speaker declared.

"Thank you, sir. I will not let you down," Riyo said firmly. The Speaker nodded, and ended the transmission.

"Then that's it. Pilot, get us moving!" Obi-Wan said, and the gunship they were in took off. Now that the storm was less intense, the other gunships could also fly, and they raced to catch up with Rex and other others before it was too late.

* * *

"Here they come!" Rex called, trying to get his bike to go faster. Another group of Talz, this one led by Thi-Sen, were descending the cliffs in front of them to reinforce the ones behind the clones, cutting them off on either side.

They were able to run right past the ambush, but several more tropers were killed in the process. And just as they were about to cross the ice bridge, several Talz suddenly pulled out sets of thermal detonators threw them past the clones, blowing the bridge apart.

' _I'll bet you the Eternal Alliance gave them those detonators_ ,' Rex thought, coming to stop before he could drive right over the edge. Now it was just him and three other soldiers, while dozens more Talz were right behind them. By this point, the chairman had managed to regain consciousness, though he was still too injured to fight.

Thi-Sen roared in victory and lead the charge, his club held high as they came closer to the clones. Even as several of their number were shot down, they did not pause of falter.

However, just as the situation looked hopeless, the sound of gunships began filling the air. From above, the Jedi and their reinforcements descended, ready to provide assistance. Seeing the massive size of the ships and their turrets, Thi-Sen slowed his troops to a halt, though they were ready to attack again if needed.

Anakin, Obi-Wan and Riyo exited one of the ships, and were treated a first-hand look at how much their numbers had been cut down.

"Rex, are you okay? Give me a sitrep," Anakin said.

"I'm fine, sir. But we've got eleven of us dead, and the rest wounded, including the chairman," he said, indicating said alien as he slumped against one of the bikes.

Senator Chuchi quickly knelt in front of him. Not bothering to ask if he was okay, she asked "Chairman, are you still with us?"

Cho looked up at her, breathing harshly as he could feel his life leave him. "Senator, good. You… must avenge me. As my final command… as Chairman of Pantora… I order you to destroy the Talz," he said.

The Senator closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, Chairman, but I cannot do that. Your actions have been called out of order. I am to negotiate peace," she told him.

The Chairman looked at her in horror. "No…! Impossible! Peace? There is no peace. And I died… for our people," he said, before falling forward as he breathed his last.

There was a moment of silence as those present stared at the body. There had never been any doubt that Chi Cho cared about his people, and had probably been a wise leader. But he was also arrogant, and arrogance diminishes wisdom.

The moment passed, and Riyo knew she still had a job to do. She gently relieved the Chairman of his helmet, and then grabbed one of the spears the Talz had thrown. Looking back at C-3PO, she said "Protocol droid, come with me."

Threepio obeyed, and the two walked halfway between their side and the Talz's. Thi-Sen urged his mount forward and did the same. Now that they were face-to-face, the primal alien could see a firmness in Riyo's gaze where there hadn't been before. But with that firmness, he didn't see any hostility.

He got off his mount and came closer. Riyo raised her spear and he tensed, only for her to stab that spear into the ground and place Chi's helmet on it. "Chieftain Thi-Sen. Our Chairman was a good man, and to die for one's people is a great sacrifice. However, to _live_ for one's people is even greater. I choose to live. What do you choose?" she said, which Threepio translated.

Thi-Sen stared, snarling under his breath. He raised his own spear, and Riyo's eyes widened. Then, slowly, he stabbed it into the ground as well. Threepio almost cheered in relief, saying "He chooses to live as well!"

Riyo nodded. "From this day forth, we will leave Orto Plutonia under the watchful eyes of the Talz, and recognize your sovereignty as a free and equal people," she announced.

Thi-Sen nodded and bowed his head, an action both she and Threepio copied. Standing, he spoke, and Threepio said "Thi-Sen says that he is thankful and that, as a show of good faith, his tribe will dissolve any loyalties to the Eternal Alliance."

His piece said, the Talz walked back to his mount and climbed on, slowly leading the rest of his forces back home.

Riyo returned to her side as well, where she and the others began to get onto the gunships. "Impressive work, Senator," Anakin congratulated her.

"Indeed. But now that your people and the Talz are at peace, remember one crucial thing," Obi-Wan said. When Riyo looked at him, he said "Make it last. For however long you can, make this peace last. And be an example to others so that not only this war, but all other wars can come to an end as well."

She nodded. "I will. I promise you," she said. And with that, they boarded the ship and left.

What Obi-Wan didn't say was one thing that had kept appearing in his mind ever since the fighting started. Thi-Sen had said that it wasn't just the Talz here on Orto Plutonia that had declared their loyalty to their Eternal Alliance, but the ones on Alzoc III and Hoth as well. And even if this tribe was willing to remove that loyalty, what about the others?

Worst still was another question. What other planets had the Eternal Alliance managed to recruit as well?

* * *

 **One week later, in another part of the galaxy…**

Lana Beniko watched with amusement as Gayg and Kei, the two Knights responsible for Nute Gunray's death, were repeatedly found, shot at, and chased by her droid, HK-55. Said droid was having them conduct an exercise in stealth, with the objective being that they had to be able to successfully hide for an entire minute within the obstacle course they were in.

Which wasn't easy when HK was equipped with infrared vision, metal sensors and several centuries of experience. Honestly, this really was more punishment than training.

' _Fitting for having failed the Eternal Alliance_ ,' Lana thought, before having her attention diverted by one of her soldiers approaching her.

"High Justice, we've received word from our agent in the Senate. The Chairman of Pantora has fallen, and the planet has reached peace with the Talz of Orto Plutonia," the solider told her.

Lana thought that over, and sighed. "A shame. Chi Cho would have made a good puppet, and the Talz are fierce allies to have. What about the other tribes?" she asked.

"Their status remains unchanged. However, we have received word that the Jedi are attempting to broker peace between the planets of Trandosha and Kashyyk, both of which we have operatives on. Not only that, but the Separatists are pushing for further control over Ryloth. If neither we nor the Republic stop them, they'll completely enslave the planet and its Twi'lek population." he told her.

Lana nodded. Much like the Talz, both the Trandoshans and the Wookies were fierce warriors, and if they ever managed to work together—such as the ones in their own forces had—then they were a force to be reckoned with. A force that Lana did not want siding with the Republic.

"Very well. Send a message to the Bowdarr and Fess clans on both planets to rally opposition to the peace talks. The longer the two planets remain in conflict, the less benefit either of them will be to the Republic," she ordered.

The soldier saluted her. "It will be done. And what of Ryloth?"

It was then than Lana smiled. That smile, however, was one any member of their military knew well. It was a smile that meant the former Sith was plotting something. "Put me in touch with the GEMINI captains and marshal our forces. It's time we brought that planet under our banner."

* * *

 **That's a wrap on this chapter. Not as much action from the Eternal Alliance this time around, but then again, this chapter was more of a cooldown after all the literal explosions from last chapter. And, as you can see, things will be heating up again anyway next chapter, so stay tuned for that!**

 **Please review! If you flame me then Bruce Lee will smash you with his nunchaku. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)**


	5. Chapter 5: The Burden of Leadership

Author's Note: I do not own Star Wars or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to the respective owners.

* * *

 **Author's Note: And thus, I have returned. I wasn't planning on brining this latest chapter out this soon (I honestly estimated it would take me another month or so to get around to it) but one of my readers said that their birthday was in a few days and requested that I post a new chapter for this story around that time. So, in a surge of compassion, I agreed. But first, to the replies!**

 **Jojobinks01: Glad that we were able to speak together.**

 **Davycrockett100: Thank you for our kind words.**

 **Jathagath: Oh yeah, there** _ **was**_ **a Talz in the cantina, wasn't there? I had completely forgotten about that. The idea you suggested is interesting, and having something of Vitiate show up in the series would be cool. (One more step in bringing Legends back to where it belongs- in canon.) And while the original Dread Masters are now dead, their fear-inducing abilities is something I've been debating whether or not to explore.**

 **Hoshistar17: Glad to hear it. Though I am curious—exactly who do you suspect the Empress to be?**

 **And maxbrevan: I do plan to have people from the Republic or Confederacy join the Eternal Alliance, though who and when is something I'm keeping close to the vest. And there will probably be pairing in this story besides the canon ones. At least one pairing, that is.**

 **And now, we begin!**

* * *

Chapter 5: The Burden of Leadership

Ahsoka Tano had to resist the urge to shiver. The time had come for the Republic to try and liberate the planet Ryloth from its occupation by the Separatists, an occupation lead by the leader of the Techno Union, Wat Tambor. In order to liberate the planet, Masters Obi-Wan and Windu were going to lead a ground assault. But they couldn't land to start that assault unless they could land on the planet, which mean that the blockade around it had to be broken first.

Which was her and Anakin's assignment. That alone wasn't enough to make her nervous; this wouldn't be the first time she had her master had flown into danger. But this time around, she was being put in charge of her own squadron. For the first time.

She sat back in the seat of her fighter, trying to take deep breaths. In front of her, her R7 astromech droid for the mission buzzed in concern, and she smiled. "This is my first time doing this, buddy. Let's make a good impression," she said.

When the droid made a series of blips in reply, she frowned. "No, of course I'm not nervous!" she protested, though whether or not the droid believed her was unknown.

Before she could try to convince R7—as well as herself—her attention was drawn away by the approach of Anakin. Smiling at her, he said "Hey, Snips. This is it, your first command. Don't be nervous."

This time, Ahsoka's frown was genuine. "I really wish people would stop saying that," she remarked.

Anakin frowned in response. "Remember, the men you're commanding on depending on you with their lives," he said seriously.

"Well, that takes the pressure off. If I wasn't nervous before, I am now," she snipped back at him. But that only caused him to chuckle.

"I have faith in you, Ahsoka. I wouldn't be letting you go out there if I didn't," he said, before beginning to walk back to his own fighter. "May the Force be with you," he told her, and she nodded. With a few presses of some buttons, the hatch to her fighter shut, and her ship rose into the air. Behind her, her squadron also readied their ships, and together they flew out into space.

* * *

"How much longer until we reach Ryloth?"

"Not far, High Justice. We're about 14 parsecs away from the planet's system. Assuming everything is in working order, we'll be there shortly," a technician told her.

Lana nodded and looked forward, ignoring the GEMINI droid hovering over her head as it piloted the ship. Through the viewport, she could see a dozen other Eternal Fleet battlecruisers flying alongside her, with more out of view. She had planned on bringing even more, seeing as this would be the Eternal Alliance's first non-guerilla assault since their arrival.

Heck, if she had her way, she'd have even brought the Gravestone with her just to make sure. But the rest of the Fleet was either defending Odessan and Zakuul, wandering the galaxy and attacking any Republic or Separatist ship they encountered, or were stationed at Iokath for maintenance. She'd have to make do with what she had.

No matter. If everything went according to plan, this planet would be hers and the Empress's very soon. She was looking forward to it.

* * *

Ahsoka and her squadron were just approaching the blockade over Ryloth when the two frigates on either side of the station opened their hangars, allowing a swarm of Vulture droids to come out.

"Here we go, boys. It's time for some action. Axe, keep the squadron back and wait for my signal," she ordered. Axe nodded and the fighters fell into a line behind Ahsoka. They flew forward and flew right into the thicket of the droid swarm. "Let's clear a path!" she called, and they opened fire.

The droids responded into turn, and the squadron scattered as they each picked their targets. Explosions lit up through empty space as droid after droid was blasted to pieces, as well as when any flak detonated before hitting a target.

Ahsoka swerved to avoid of spray of laserfire and shot back, hitting the droid responsible with a trio of shots and destroying it. One thing she could say she liked about the Separatist droids was that they focused on quantity instead of quality. So, when they went up against skilled pilots like herself and the clone troopers, it was easy pickings.

It was all too soon that they cleared a path to the battle station. They flew forward with no further droids in the way, and Ahsoka smirked. Not as much a problem as she thought.

However, it was at that moment that their sensors went off, and four more Separatist battle cruisers suddenly dropped out of hyperspace right in front of them, flanking the battle station. Each one began opening fire and releasing their own droids, forcing the Republic on the defensive.

" _Enemy reinforcements! Commander Tano, we've been caught in a trap! Retreat!_ " Admiral Yularan told her over her commlink.

Bu Ahsoka shook her head. "You're overreacting, Admiral. I can get us through. Blue Squadron, stay the course," she ordered. Her troops did as ordered, but it was hard to do so when they were try struggling to avoid over four times as much enemy fire.

On the bridge of the Republic cruisers, Yularan's eyes narrowed. "Commander, I'm ordering you to return to the ship! We're going to need your help," he said firmly.

Anakin also spoke up, saying "Ahsoka, it's too risky. Get your pilots out of there!"

Rather than obey, Ahsoka kept going, Blue Squadron right behind her. But there were now too many droids, and they began to surround them. Two of them targeted Axe, one of the troopers. "I can't shake them!" he said, moving side-to-side to avoid being shot.

Another one of them said "I wish I could help, Axe, but I've got my own problem," referring to a trio of droids that were tailing him. He tried to dodge them, but soon enough one of the droids got lucky, and shot him right where the fuel tank was. It ignited in a dazzling burst of fire and shrapnel, killing him and sending debris in all directions.

"We're too outnumbered! They're breaking our lines!" Yularan called watching as more of their own fighters were being overwhelmed by the Vulture droids.

Anakin slammed his fist down on the command console. "Ahsoka, we are in trouble! I order you to return to the ship!"

Ahsoka gritted her teeth and wanted to protest, but another explosion from one of her squadron's ships forced her hand. "Alright, alright! Blue Squadron, pull back to the ship," she said sullenly. She and the other troopers reversed direction and began flying back to the cruiser.

But the Vulture droids, seeing that they weren't doing enough damage with their blasters, began crashing themselves into the cruisers. One of them saw that the shields around the _Resolute's_ command deck hadn't been raised yet, and shot towards there.

Anakin and Yularan saw it coming, and the Jedi called "Run for it!" They did, but they had taken less than ten steps when the droid crashed into the deck right below the viewport, knocking them off their feet and nearly shattering the viewing glass.

Yularan landed right on his head, and cried out in pain. "Get us out of here!" he yelled.

Anakin looked around at the recovering workers and said, "Get those fighters on board and prepare for lightspeed!"

It was at that moment that the fighters made it inside, even though the one with Axe inside was shot apart just before reentry. With what was left of Blue Squadron aboard, the Republic flight jumped to hyperspace in full retreat.

* * *

Ahsoka sat sullenly on top of her fighter. Two soldiers. Just two soldiers out of all of Blue Squadron had managed to make it back with her. Her connection to the Force made her feel each and every one of their deaths, and it felt like a hole had opened up in her chest from sensing their lives being snuffed out.

No one said anything to her since she had made it back. Admiral Yularan was being examined by their medical staff, despite insisting that he only had a bruise and not a concussion. The rest of the clones hadn't said a word, though whether it was because they were busy, had orders not to, or were too mad at here, she didn't know.

And Anakin… he had simply been trying to get a head count to figure out the total number of casualties. After giving the order to each squad leader to get him that count, he came towards her.

"Ahsoka, I'm very disappointed in you," he said, causing her to look up at him. "You not only disobeyed the Admiral, but you disobeyed me as well," he said sternly.

She looked away. "I thought I could get rid of that battles station so that Master Obi-Wan would be able to get through when he arrives," she said.

Anakin crossed his arms. "I know that you had good intentions, Snips, but that's not the point. The first rule of wear is that you listen and obey your superiors."

Ahsoka's eyes flashed, and she stood up. "But you sometimes get carried away. You disobey orders too!" she argued.

It was true, and they both knew it. Several of Anakin's victories, in combat or from the sidelines, had exactly because of his ability to think outside the box. And his way of thinking outside the box often meant contradicting the orders he was given. He sighed, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "All I'm saying is that I know what you're going through," he told her more gently.

"But I failed. I lost so many people today, people who were depending on me," she said in anguish.

Looking her in the eye, Anakin said "Take heart, little one. That's the burden of being a leader, and Jedi are leaders."

There was silence for moment, before it was interrupted by Rex, who said "General, we're approaching the staging area. Also, Master Windu is requesting a report on our progress."

Looking back at him, the Chosen One said "Well, we haven't made any progress yet. Still, I'll tell him that myself. In the meantime, get me a damage report. See how much needs to be repaired, and how long it's going to take."

"Right away, sir," Rex replied, saluting before walking off. Anakin watched him go, before turning back around. "Now, Snips, I'm going to need…" he said, before trailing off. And the reason for it was that Ahsoka was gone.

* * *

Aboard the Separatist battle station, Neimoidian Captain Mar Tuuk couldn't contain his joy at having beaten the Republic's forces. So much so, in fact, that he had hardly waited at all after they jumped to hyperspace to contact Wat Tambor.

The leader of the Techo Union narrowed his eyes at being contacted so soon. He was expecting to have waited longer. " _Captain, what is the status of the enemy attack?_ " he asked.

Tuuk puffed his chest out proudly. "Why, the Jedi and their forces were crushed, of course. They turned tail and fled the system, their ships in flames. I assure you, Emir, the blockade is very much intact.

Tambor was surprised, pleasantly so, but also suspicious. " _Then I congratulate you on your victory, Captain. Still, do not underestimate the Jedi. They may yet have something up their sleeve_ ," he warned, before cutting the off the call.

* * *

At the same time, aboard her own ships, Lana was talking to one of her agents. "So, the Republic's initial assault failed," she said.

The holo-image resolved into one of the clone troopers, though nothing about his uniform gave away which one. She liked that about these clones: once she had turned one of them, it was far too easy for them to blend right in. " _Affirmative, ma'am. But the Jedi still haven't given up on Ryloth. They'll be coming up with a plan before trying again, I'm sure_ ," he said.

Lana nodded. "I expected as much. Very well, then. Return to your duties, and be sure to delete any records of this call afterwards," she said.

The clone nodded and ended the call, while Lana mulled over her options. If the Republic had failed the first time around, then the loss of their forces would make breaking the blockade much harder for them on their second try.

She grinned. That was it. That was their opening.

* * *

By the time that Ahsoka was found and brought to Anakin, he was working on repairs for his own starfighters. "You wanted to see me, Master?" she asked, sounding far less cheerful than normal. That was to be expected, though. She had lost almost her entire command.

Still, Anakin didn't comment on it, and just said "Great, you're here. Hand me that socket plug, would you?"

The Togruta Padawan looked around for said socket plug, and found that R2-D2 was the one holding it. She handed it to him, and he said "Thank you, Snips. How are you feeling?"

So he was going to ask after all. She shrugged, but couldn't keep the sarcasm from her tone when she said "Oh, I'm fine, Master. Just fine."

"That's good to hear. You'll need to have a level head if we're going to pull this off," he said, lying back and continuing his repairs. Although his position kept him from seeing it, he knew that his Padawan was confused by what he was talking about. So, he continued "I spoke with Master Windu. We've been ordered to proceed with our attack on the blockade."

Ahsoka stared at him. "Wait. We- But- But we can't! There's no way that we-" she stuttered, but Anakin cut her off.

"It isn't a question of can or can't. We _have_ to break that blockade, Ahsoka. The Twi'leks on Ryloth are depending on us to set them free," he said.

She shook her head. "I understand that, Master, but we've lost over half our men! Did we get more support? Are there more troops coming?" she asked.

Anakin finished with the repairs, and stood up. "No, we have to make do with the forces we have left…and I need to come up with a plan," he said, muttering that last part.

But Ahsoka heard it, and her expression turned even more incredulous. "You don't even have a plan?!" she nearly shouted.

"Don't worry, Sni-" he started, before she talked over him. "No! That's what you said the first time, and now everyone's gone! My whole squadron! We can't just smash through that blockade!"

Anakin glared at her and was about to say something, when they were both stopped by a beeping from his wrist communicator. Taking a moment to give her a look, one that clearly said that this conversation wasn't over, he activated it. "This is Skywalker speaking," he said.

It was Rex, who said " _General, we're being contacted on by an unknown ship on an encrypted channel. We're trying to decode it, but the only part we've uncovered is that they want to speak to you and Commander Tano._ "

Anakin blinked in surprise, as did his Padawan. "We'll be there right away, then," he said, and beckoned for Ahsoka to follow him.

Once they were aboard the command deck, Anakin asked "Have you been able to determine where the signal's coming from?"

But Rex shook his head. "I wish we could, General. But whoever this is, they know what they're doing," he said, before opening the commlink.

The moment he did, the image of some sort of droid appeared. It was vaguely feminine in appearance, and had glowing red eyes, a chrome body and a strange sort of headdress. It also appeared to be hovering in midair, and spoke without looking at them.

" _Republic battle cruiser Resolute, this GEMINI Captain Unit 6419. My controller wishes for an audience with Jedi General Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan. Are they present?_ " the droid asked in a mechanical and monotone voice.

Ahsoka gasped, causing Anakin to look at her. "What is it? Have you seen this droid before?" he asked.

Slowly, she shook her head. "No, but I recognize the name 'GEMINI'. These are the droids that pilot the Eternal Fleet," she said.

That caused shock to spread throughout every person in the room. If this droid was piloting a ship from the Eternal Fleet, that could only mean that they were being contacted by the Eternal Alliance. But why?

Not having heard a response, the GEMINI droid said again " _Republic battle cruiser Resolute, this GEMINI Captain Unit 6419. My controller wishes for an audience-_ "

Anakin spoke up, saying "This is Jedi General Skywalker. I'm here, and so is my Padawan. What is the reason for your call?"

The droid didn't respond, and the image of it in fact flashed before vanishing. There was a second of surprise, before the holo-image appeared again, only this time it was one someone else.

It looked to be a human woman with shoulder-length hair, who was wearing a black-and-grey version of the armor worn by the Knights of Zakuul. The woman bowed and said " _I apologize for my droid's misconduct. They're built for piloting, not socializing._ "

Anakin momentarily floundered, surprised at seeing a real person after having only ever seen droids or a Knight with a helmet. But he quickly pulled himself together, and said "The apology is accepted. And who is it that we're speaking with?"

The woman chuckled. " _Where are my manners? My name is Lana Beniko, High Justice of the Knights of Zakuul and spymaster for the Eternal Alliance. It's a pleasure to meet you, General Skywalker and Commander Tano_ ," she revealed.

Ahsoka tensed. They were talking to an enemy spymaster? That was _not_ good. The only time talking to anyone related to spies ended well was when they were helping you or you were killing them. Still, she didn't say that out loud, and instead said "The pleasure is ours, High Justice. To what do we owe the pleasure of this call?"

" _Well, my sources have informed me that you're attempting to free the planet Ryloth and its Twi'lek inhabitants from their occupation by the Confederacy of Independent Systems. However, those same sources told me that your first attempt to do was… less than successful_ ," Lan told them.

Anakin resisted the urge to glare at her, asking "Who gave you that information? Was it someone aboard this ship?"

Lana merely smiled. " _Now, that would be telling, wouldn't it? In any case, the fact that you failed in your initial assault on Ryloth does not bode well for the Twi'leks. Or the Republic, for that matter. That is why I've chosen to contact you, as I am offering to help you in this endeavor._ "

"Oh, really? The last time I checked, our two sides were enemies. Forgive me, but the idea that you would want to help us is something I find a little hard to believe," Anakin retorted.

But Lana had an answer for that too. " _I admit that it would come as surprise. But the enemy of my enemy, as the saying goes, is my friend. We're both enemies of the Separatists, and would like to see Ryloth removed from their possession. And our sides have worked together in the past, if you'll recall, with the events surrounding the late Nute Gunray. Why couldn't we do so again?_ "

Anakin was silent, thinking about it. He looked over at Ahsoka, who he knew had been there during Gunray's death. "You've dealt with the Eternal Alliance before, Snips? Do you think we can trust them?" he asked.

Ahsoka was slow to respond, and when she did, she said, "I think… It wouldn't kill us to accept the offer. The Knight of Zakuul I encountered last time were honest enough, if a bit overzealous. If they're offering to help, it would go a long way to making sure the blockade's broken before Masters Obi-Wan and Windu get here."

Considering that, Anakin looked back at Lana, who was waiting patiently for a response. He didn't know why, but there was something about her—the way she spoke, how she carried herself, something—that just set him on edge. But that could have just been paranoia, so he shoved it to the side.

"Suppose that we accepted your offer, and our two factions worked together to break the blockade over Ryloth. What do you want in return for your help?" he asked.

" _In return? We'd want the chance to join in the ground assault. Beyond that, however, we aren't asking for anything else. Being able to provide freedom to a whole planet of oppressed people is its own reward,_ " the woman said to them.

Anakin nodded. Although he still has reservations about this, he felt that he could trust this Lana woman well enough that she'd keep her word. "I'd have to discuss this with the other Jedi involved in the assault. But I can convince them, then we'd be happy to accept your help," he declared.

Lana waved her hand. " _Discuss it with your fellow Jedi all you want. We're going to liberate Ryloth, with or without your help. Whether or not you want the Republic to have any say in what happens afterwards is up to you_ ," she said bluntly, and ended the call.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Ahsoka said aloud, a sentiment that Anakin shared. Still, if the Eternal Alliance was sincere in their desire to help, then this could be the break they were looking for.

* * *

Both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mace Windu stared at Anakin as if he had gown a second head. " _Hold on a second, Anakin. I'm fairly certain I didn't hear that right. You're saying that the Eternal Alliance, our enemy in the war, is offering to help us liberate Ryloth? Is that right?_ " Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin sighed and nodded. "Yes, that's right. Apparently, they want the planet out of Separatist hands just as much as we do. To that end, their High Justice is willing to offer a temporary truce until they've been removed from this system. All they want for compensation is the choice to help with the ground assault as well," he explained for what felt like the fourth time.

Mace held a hand to his chin and hummed. " _Something about this just doesn't feel right. Even if they want Ryloth freed, I seriously doubt the Eternal Alliance would be willing to extend a genuine hand of friendship to see it done. And this Lana woman… her mannerisms remind me too much a Jedi for her to not have a history with us_ ," he thought aloud.

Ahsoka raised an eyebrow. "You mean, you think she's a former Jedi? But how could that be? Of all the members of the Order who've ever left for any reason, I never came across her name during my studies as an Initiate."

" _Nor I. I don't think she's a former Jedi, but there is something more to her than just the leader of the Knights of Zakuul. And that's before you include the fact that she called herself a spymaster. I can't, in good faith, believe that she or the Alliance won't betray us at some point if we accept their aid_ ," Obi-Wan said.

Anakin sighed. "We may not have a choice, actually," he said, causing both Masters to look at him.

" _And what makes you say that, Skywalker?_ " Windu asked sharply.

"To be perfectly honest, with how little of our forces we have remaining, we may not have the manpower needed to break the blockade in time. So unless I came up with some sort of crazy plan, accepting their help is the best option. Not only that, but High Justice Beniko gave the impression that they were going to liberate Ryloth whether we accepted their help or not. If we don't act, we might not have any decision in what happens to the Twi'leks after that."

If anything, that seemed to only make Mace more displeased. " _She's strong-arming us into accepting her help, even if she's able to keep that fact hidden between the lines. But that raises another question. If the Eternal Alliance plans to liberate Ryloth with or without our help, why offer us the chance to join hands at all?_ "

Ahsoka spoke up, saying "Maybe because they don't want to fight both us _and_ the Separatists, so they're trying to cut down on the number of people they have to fight."

Obi-Wan nodded. " _I could see them wanting that. Fighting a war on one side can be troublesome enough. Fighting it against two enemies is even harder, and that holds true for us as well. I suggest that we accept the Eternal Alliance's offer, at least for now. But we should still keep our guard up, just in case they do try something_ ," he advised.

"Shake with one hand and hold our lightsabers with the other?" Anakin asked, half-smiling in amusement. When Obi-Wan nodded, he said "I also think that would be the wisest thing to do. I'll let High Justice Beniko know that we've agreed to their help."

" _Then the matter is settled. Maybe the Force be with us all_ ," Windu concluded, and they ended the conversation.

* * *

The remaining Republic cruisers, the _Defender_ and the _Resolute_ , dropped out of hyperspace not far from the enemy blockade. Aboard the battle station's bridge, the leader droid said "Captain, the Republic forces have come back."

Mar Tuuk grinned. "Ah, yes. I knew Skywalker would come back. Prepare to engage," he said, lying down the holo-archive of Anakin he had been reading. He knew that Skywalker didn't stand a chance of destroying his blockade, and with the General's defeat his reputation would extend beyond the stars. He might even get his own planet.

The droid responded with a programmed "Roger, roger," and began to prepare. Slowly, the cruisers came closer to being within firing range, and he could hardly bear the anticipation. But just as the Republic cruisers were close enough to fire upon, alarms suddenly began blaring.

"Sir, our sensors have detected several dozen ships appearing from nowhere! I think they're using cloaking technology!" the commanding droid said.

"What?!" Tuuk yelled, and looked forward. Indeed, in a large circle around the Republic cruisers, a total of two dozen battlecruisers—ones he easily recognized as being part of the infamous Eternal Fleet—deactivated their cloaking systems and immediately opened fire, four targeting each frigate.

He simply stared for a moment, uncomprehending. The Republic and Eternal Alliance had joined forces? That was an utter nightmare! But then he managed to snap back into focus, and called "Return fire and raise shields around the battle station! Tell the droids in charge of the frigate to assume defensive formation!"

The droid did as ordered and relayed his words to the droid captains aboard the other ships. The frigates fanned out and the battlecruisers broke up with them, moving with a speed that should have been impossible for ships of that size.

' _We're being outgunned_ ,' Captain Tuuk thought. As if to make matters worse, the sensors then detected that, from the _Resolute_ , a squadron of bombers was entering the fight.

Commanding those bombers was Ahsoka, who said "Alright, it's time to do this." For a moment, she felt a flash of fear that she would fail again, before she crushed that thought. She wouldn't fail this time. She couldn't.

And she didn't. Ahsoka lead the bombers to the closest frigate and unleashed fury from above, causing explosions all along its body and its command deck. Quickly, the ship lost power and stopped firing, making it easy picking for the Eternal fleet to rip to shreds. They continued this pattern with the next frigate, and then the next and the next.

"We've been outflanked, sir! What should we do?" the command droid said, sounding more than a little panicked.

Tuuk tried to frantically think of a way out of this, but then none other than Wat Tambor appeared on the holoprojector. " _Captain, I can see the explosions from here on the surface. What is going on?_ " he demanded.

"Erim Tambor, it's the Eternal Alliance! They've joined forces with the Republic, and are lending their support!" he said.

Tambor's eyes went huge behind his goggles, before glaring at Tuuk. " _You idiot! Then the blockade has been broken! It's only a matter of time before they land here on Ryloth!_ " he yelled.

Tuuk tried to raise some form of protest, but his attention was diverted to the sight of several of the Eternal Fleet ships assuming some sort of diamond formation, with their front ends glowing. With a flash, each of unleashed a storm of turbolasers on the battle station, laying waste to it in a matter of minutes. Tuuk didn't even have enough time to make it to an escape pod before he was killed.

* * *

Lana let herself smile as she watched the Separatist ships burn, and the Republic invasion arrive just in time. So far, everything was going as she had hoped. With the Republic having accepted this temporary truce, she wouldn't have to worry about fighting them for Ryloth. And while she had been sincere about wanting the Twi'leks to be freed… she had plans for just what to have them do with that freedom.

* * *

 **That ends this chapter. Now, with it and the latest chapter of my Artificer story done it's time I re-focused on my main stories. I'm not abandoning this one, but it will probably be a while before the next update. So stay tuned!**

 **Please review! If you flame me then Bruce Lee will smash you with his nunchaku. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)**


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